Move Me
by SunflowersAndHoney
Summary: AU. Letty Ortiz is a dancer for a professional dance team who prefers being under the hood of a car. Dominic Toretto is a Los Angeles mechanic and Letty's possible salvation. But he has a surprising connection to the captain of the team, and Letty's arch rival. Things are about to get interesting. Slow-burn Dotty. M for the language and the lovin'. REPOST!
1. Qi (Chi)

_Title_: _**Move Me**_

_Author_: SunflowersAndHoney (formerly ChinaTeaSunflowers)

_Rating_: M+ (as usual)

_Summary: AU. Letty Ortiz is a dancer for a professional dance team who prefers being under the hood of a car. Dominic Toretto is a Los Angeles mechanic and Letty's possible salvation. But he has a surprising connection to the captain of the team, and Letty's arch rival. Things are about to get interesting. Slow-burn Dotty. M for the language and the lovin'._

_**Insert witty disclaimer here.**_

_A/N__: Thanks to a review by Enchanted15, this story has come to fruition. It was a brilliant idea and I can only hope that I do justice. (: Thanks for the prompt, love. Also, the professional basketball and dance teams here are fictional and any likenesses to persons living or dead are entirely coincidental. Repost for MsShaShaD and Mialovesyou._

XXX

_Chapter 1: Qi (Chi)_

_March, Los Angeles, 9:30AM_

Inhale. Exhale.

Letty Ortiz rolled her shoulders twice to work out an unnecessary kinks. Clenching and unclenching her fists to break in the black hand wraps around her knuckles, the brunette mentally prepared herself for the physical task before her.

Another deep inhale.

"Yahh!" She shouted as she released a furious assault against the hanging punching bag. Her arms moved quickly and her fists pounded away at the exercise equipment. She let loose all of the frustration from the past week. The Latina only wanted to get away for a _very _long vacation.

Unfortunately, she had commitments, responsibilities; some she chose herself, while others were put upon her. Letty was, for the past three years, on the dance team for California's professional basketball team, the Los Angeles Lancers. Her mother, Lana, had gotten her the job because she owned shares in the winning team.

There was nothing more that Letty loathed than the barely-there outfits that they had to wear damn near every night... except the captain of the team, Elena Neves. Letty's dislike for the exotic woman ran deep. Since the day the two had met, there was a powerful rivalry between them. And everyone could tell. While most of the girls stayed far away from their verbal swordplay, there were quite a few who enjoyed the public tête-á-tête.

But this was her life. And while not all of the company was pleasant, Letty would be lying if she said the money wasn't amazing. She was by no means a materialistic girl, but there was something utterly soothing about going home to her two floor condo in Los Angeles and relaxing in her Whirlpool bathtub with its forty-six massaging jets.

When she was working in retail at an upscale boutique down on Rodeo Drive, Letty would have never been able to afford the place she was living now.

There were stipulations, though; the girls have been given a weight class to stick to. An average calories chart, which Letty had never stuck to. Fortunately for her, she had always been naturally petite and could eat as much as she wanted. A lot of the other girls weren't as lucky. They each had to log in at least ten hours at the gym a week and were subject to beauty treatments, on the dime of the dance team's shareholders, every Sunday; hair appointments, nail appointments and waxes.

No, Letty wouldn't complain. She couldn't, anyway. According to her mother, she should be thanking all of the Saints that she was more fortunate than others. Joaquin, Letty's father, and Nico, her older brother were just happy that they got front row tickets to all the games. They tried to stay out of the '_politicas de mujeres_', women's politics, as her father called it.

Nico always listened to Letty's problems over a large pizza and a few cold beers. He was sympathetic to her woes, and understood that she only continued with her unexpected career as a dancer girl because of their mother. And if anything, one did not want to cross Lana Ortiz.

XXX

_11:34AM_

Drinking deeply from her water bottle, Letty inhaled through her nose, attempting to control her breathing. Sweat glistened on her body, already beginning to soak back into her skin. She glanced over at the glass-encased 'quiet room' of the gym to find the rest of her team ending their pilates session. Rolling her eyes, Letty headed towards the locker room to shower before she headed to her weekly beauty treatments. It was a game day for the boys, which mean, thankfully, the regimen would only take a few hours as opposed to the half-day that it normally took.

The Latina pulled her sweat-towel off of her shoulders and dabbed at her face before pulling off her sports bra. She wrapped a towel around her exposed body and headed to a shower stall. Along the way, she bypassed Elena and her 'Army of Skanks', as Letty referred to them.

"Hey, butch. How was your macho, ass-kicking session?" Elena asked.

"A lot better than pilates. Getting limber for your clients tonight?" Letty quipped.

Mia Ferragamo, one of the only girls on the team that Letty could stand, snorted her laughter, lowly, as she opened her gym locker.

Elena glared. "Something funny, Mia?"

"Dude, she just called you a prostitute. Me, laughing, is the least of your problems."

Letty smiled, smugly, bypassed Elena and continued on to the showers.

XXX

_4:12PM_

Letty double-kissed her favorite, gay hairdresser/makeup artist, Raymond, and headed out of the salon. Now, she had to head home and get ready for the game. Letty opened the door to her GTO and pushed her newly blown-out hair over her shoulders. She put her keys into the ignition and started on her way.

As she made a right turn, Letty heard the distinctive rumble of a flat tire.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." She sighed. Letty pulled her phone out of the cup holder and held down the home button.

"Siri, where's the closest auto shop?"

The automated woman's voice directed her to DT's Auto Garage.

At DT's, Letty parked along the street and headed inside. Five grease monkeys were hard at work on customers' cars. Hip-hop music played, lowly; from where, Letty couldn't be sure. One of the mechanics caught Letty's eye. He seemed to be the owner of the establishment. With a muscular form that demanded attention and a bald head.

"Hey, can I get some help?" Letty asked. Everyone's head turned towards the Latina who was standing, confidently, in the doorway. Her feathered hair and nude makeup only added to her natural beauty. In cropped yoga pants and a performance tank top, she looked as if she was getting ready to go somewhere and did not have time to wait around in a mechanic's garage.

"What can I help you with, little lady?" The bald-headed one asked. The nametag on his jumpsuit read 'Tony'.

"Please tell me you guys sell tires here."

"We do."

"How much for the new ones?"

"One-fifty, generally. Depends on what type of car you're driving."

Letty jutted out her chin. "I've never paid more than a hundred for a new tire. I've got a 1970 GTO."

A low whistle from the muscled, scruffy guy working on a Nissan SRX. "That's a strong ride for a delicate little flower."

Letty smirked. She was used to being underestimated. "Trust me, I've ridden things a lot stronger than that, and managed to tame every last one."

His eyebrows went up and he chuckled. "I like you."

"Thanks, so, about that tire..."

"Well, I can take a look at it. The extra fifty is for the labor."

"Oh, well that's sweet but I can change it myself."

"Dom." Tony called over another of the mechanics. Letty could see a resemblance between the two men. She assumed they were father and son. "This is my son, Dom Toretto. He'll assist you."

Dom extended his hand. Letty looked at it for a few moments before shaking it. "Letty Ortiz."

"Nice to meet you, Letty." He studied her face for a moment. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Likewise. And I doubt it." She shrugged; she was not in the mood to sign autographs or have her mechanic drooling over her dance background. The girls were well-known and performed some risque burlesque routines every now and then, and she was no stranger to the lust in people's eyes when she told them about her profession.

"I'll change the tire for you, no extra charge."

"Really, it's okay."

"Don't worry about it. You're all done up like you've got somewhere to go. It wouldn't be right if I let someone's masterpiece go to waste." Dom smiled.

Letty noticed that he looked different when he smiled. He looked... less sad; less like he'd seen too much of the world. He was extremely handsome.

When it was all said and done, Dom changed her tire for her and only charged her one hundred bucks.

"How about a complimentary oil change?"

"I changed it myself last week." Letty told him.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

Dom looked her up and down. Suddenly remembering something his father had always told him.

_Never judge a book by its cover._

"How good are you under the hood of a car?"

"Pretty advanced. I used to work on cars with my dad. Still do sometimes."

"Vince, the one who said he likes you, is going on vacation for two weeks. We good use an extra set of hands."

Letty laughed. "Are you offering me a job?"

"As long as you don't come to work all dolled up."

"What? Are you supposed to be the only pretty one here?"

He chuckled. "Well, yeah. I thought that was kind of obvious." He flipped imaginary hair behind his shoulder, and the brunette couldn't contain the laugh that escaped her.

Letty pushed off of her car and opened the driver's side door, grinning. "Sure. I'll help you guys out. You've got my information."

"I do." Dom nodded.

Letty shut the door and started the engine. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Your dad's prettier than you." She teased before pulling out of her parking space. Dom remained standing there, intrigued by his new impromptu hire.

XXX

_8:30PM_

After the game, which brought an unsurprising win for the guys, the girls did meet and greets. They smiled, took pictures with fans -mostly guys- and signed pictures of themselves in the new calendar they'd recently released. Among the crowd, Letty, or Miss March, was a little stunned to see Dominic. After he got a few of the others to sign their months on his calendar, he made his way over to Letty's table.

"Toretto. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised to see you here."

"The feeling is mutual. How long have you been a dancer for the Lancers?"

"Three years, give or a take a couple months."

Dom nodded his head as if he were pondering her words. "A dancer who's also a mechanic. That's something you don't see everyday."

"Hmm." Was all Letty responded with.

Sure, the conversation was simple. But, Letty felt comfortable with her soon-to-be-new-coworker. She opened her mouth to see if Dom wanted VIP passes to meet a few of the players, when she was interrupted.

"Dom!" Elena's voice cause both of their heads to turn. She was smiling, waving him over.

Letty turned her attention back to Dominic, raising an eyebrow.

"I gotta go." He informed. "I'll see you around?"

"Obviously."

Not long after he was summoned, Mia bounced her way over to Letty's table, smiling conspiratorially. "Well, well. Look at you making friends with Dom."

Letty smiled, but shrugged nonchalantly. "He seems cool."

"Mhm. 'He seems cool'," mocked Mia. "Are you sure you aren't making friends to get under Elena's skin?"

"I didn't even know that she knew him." Letty admitted. "Who is he, anyway? Her brother?"

Mia's mouth gaped open and she stared at Letty in sheer disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

Letty slung her black gym bag over her shoulder. "No."

"Dom is Elena's new boyfriend."

Letty's head snapped up from her phone. She quickly composed her facial expression so she wouldn't reveal too much to Mia. "Oh."

_**Up Next: First day on the new job.**_


	2. Zen

_A/N: A little history of Letty's family. _

_**Chapter 2: Zen**_

_DT's Auto Garage, Monday, 8:30AM_

"Pretty _and_ prompt? You're already my employee of the month." Tony greeted Letty.

"Flattery gets you everywhere with me." She shot back, earning a chuckle from the shop's owner. He waved her over to the middle of the garage where he was working on a Dodge Charger. "What do you say we jump right in?"

"The sooner, the better." Letty made note of the fact that it was just her and Tony in the shop. She assumed he'd asked her in a bit earlier so as to see what she was really made of.

"Perfect. So, the brilliant owner of this magnificent vehicle has shot his transmission to hell along with his radiator. We need to do a trans rebuild and then I'll have Vince run down to Pep Boys for a new radiator when he gets in."

"Nice, what's that like three days' worth of billable hours for the trans and then another thirty minutes for the radiator?"

Tony looked impressed. "That's exactly what it is. Split between you and I, of course."

"Oh, of course." She smirked at him.

"So, let's get to work."

Within the next half an hour, Leticia and Tony worked together on removing the transmission and opening up its case and inspecting the damage. By then, Vince had waltzed in followed by two men who'd introduced themselves as Jesse and Leon. Each man, in utter disbelief, stared at her whenever any mechanic jargon escaped her lips. At eleven, when Dom entered the garage, Letty pretended she didn't see him, choosing, instead, to focus on putting a new tire on a Honda Civic.

While Dom, Vince and Leon took their lunch break, Letty worked right through it, learning new things on the technology side by hanging with Jesse. She'd taken a liking to the kid, and she couldn't place his mindset. ADD, perhaps? It didn't matter to her, he was brilliant when it came to the computers. He was teaching her the basics of restoring the Navigation system to factory settings when Tony called to the pair.

"You two can head out for lunch as soon as Dom and Leon get back."

"Okay. Jesse, want to go get cheesesteaks or something?" She asked.

"If I can just get rewrite this Bluetooth pairing code, I could-," Jesse mumbled with a pen between his teeth. "Wait, you eat cheesesteaks?"

Letty laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, I just assumed you ate rabbit food?"

"Like salad and veggies?"

"Well," he shrugged, shyly, "yeah. I mean, I-I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just-."

"Jess, relax, man. I'll take that as a compliment. I guess my kickboxing is paying off."

"Wait, you kickbox?" Now, the younger man was in simply in awe. Letty chuckled and shook her head.

"I do."

Turning back to his computer, Jesse mentioned, "Dom made it seem like you were this prissy, little girl."

Letty's eyebrows rose and she smirked. "Is that so?" Well, that was certainly interesting. He'd barely spoken two words to her all day, which was confusing because he was the one who offered her the job to begin with.

"Sure. I bet he's eating his words now."

"Yeah, I bet he is."

* * *

_4:55PM_

Letty tightened her ponytail and pulled her keys from her gym bag when Tony approached her. "That was great work today, Letty. When's your next shift?"

"I can be here tomorrow after training, around ten-thirty?"

"Great. I won't be here, so Dom will be your supervisor tomorrow."

Letty's eyelids fluttered as she tried to comprehend that little tidbit of information. "Oh, okay."

"Don't worry. He's not a tyrant or anything. But he is pretty serious about getting work done."

"Not a problem."

"Great. So when you come in, just continue working on the transmission in the Charger and then whatever else he asks."

"You got it." She pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and headed towards her car. She turned her cell phone back on and the notifications started pouring in. Forgetting the game alerts and social media accounts, Letty saw her overbearing mother, doting father and big brother had shot her texts throughout the day. Starting with her mother, she worked her way down the list, replying to each. When it was all said and done, she had been summoned to dinner at her family's estate.

* * *

_Ortiz Manor, Los Angeles, 7:30PM_

Nothing in the world could have prepared Letty for the Inquisition that her mother put her through during dinner. It started great with her brother greeting her by lifting her over his shoulder and carrying her through the house, kicking and screaming. Her father asked what cars she'd worked on and if she liked where she was working. But Lana… she was an acquired taste.

"I mean, honestly, Letty, you don't anything about these people. They could be criminals for crying out loud. Why do you need to roll around in dirt and grease all day?"

Letty finished off the last half of the disgusting white wine that her mother insisted on buying. Nico leaned over and muttered, "I've got the good stuff in my trunk."

"Oh, thank god." She whispered back.

"Lana, what's wrong with her wanting to make a little extra money? From the sound of things, it's something that she likes doing."

"She likes dancing for the Lady Lancers, don't you, Letty?"

"Not really."

"Good money, though, right sis?"

"Exactly."

"For Christ's sake, let the girl have some fun. She's twenty-three."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Exactly, she's three years from being too old to be on the team."

"Which is precisely why she should have a steady job for when she's finished with the Lady Lancers."

Lana daintily cut through her grilled salmon and sighed; she would let this go for now. She did, however, need the last word. "As long as it doesn't cut into your practice hours or gym time."

"I already gave Tony my schedule for this season."

"That's my girl." Joaquin commended.

He loved his wife, deeply, but sometimes the disdain she had for her own daughter because of her youth and beauty was just sad. Lana hadn't always been that way. When she was younger, she was wild and free, always ready for an adventure. Once her father died, however, and she inherited the family business, Lana became an entirely different person.

With her new upper echelon lifestyle, Lana felt the pressure to learn proper etiquette, become business savvy and also to start a family in a short amount of time. Soon, she became so immersed in the serious, yet glamorous lifestyle that she forgot who she was. Two years later she was married and pregnant with Nico. Two years after that, Letty was born. And from them on, things had never been the same

So, Joaquin understood her on a deeper level. But he did remember what it was like to be twenty-three and want to do things your own way. Not everyone was meant to live a life in an office, especially Letty. The girl had a wild spirit, just as her mother had at that age. And Joaquin would be damned if someone tried to break her. Although, knowing Letty's strength and determination, that wasn't even a possibility.

No one could tame Letty Ortiz.

* * *

_Cha Cha Cha, 9:30PM_

"Right! He was talking so much shit, but as soon as he spotted her in the garage with Mr. T, he was speechless." Vince laughed. He, Dom, Leon and Jesse had met back up for drinks after work and they'd been at the bar ever since. Vince had been ragging on his best friend of nearly twenty years for the past hour.

"Time out," Dom began, reaching the end of his rope, "all those getting laid frequently raise your hand."

Besides himself, neither of his friends raised their hands. "Exactly. Look, Elena doesn't like Letty. Had I known that before I met her, I never would have hired her. But what's done is done and I can't fire someone just because my girlfriend doesn't like her."

Vince nodded in agreement.

"True. Besides, I can't think of any reason why anyone would hate Letty. She seems cool." Jesse admitted.

"Agreed. She finished like three cars today." Leon chimed in.

"And I respect that. I do. But I've got to keep my distance. The last thing I need is Elena's nagging voice in my ear."

"Well, if you're not gonna go for Letty, I will." Leon told them.

Dom's ears nearly turned red from the sudden anger that shot through him. What was he mad for? He barely knew the girl enough to get all Mr. Macho Protector over her. Besides, he had a lady already.

Elena, he reminded himself.

And if he wanted to keep Elena around, he'd be better off if he stayed far away from Letty because the brunette seemed like just his type; Hispanic, quick-witted and brilliant with cars; a girl who was down for pizza, beer and video games instead of salads, sushi and tanning.

"Yeah right!" Vince was saying when Dom snapped out of his thoughts. "I'd pay good money to see you bag her."

Leon reached into his pocket and slid five twenties off of the wad of money he held. "Fine. Hundred bucks says I get her into bed within the next three months."

"Hundred says you don't." Vince drunkenly slapped down a one-hundred dollar bill.

Jesse put his hands up in surrender. "I want no parts in this. These bets always seem to come back and bite you guys in the ass."

While they expected that from Jesse, the two idiots looked to their fearless leader, Dom Toretto. At that moment, he wanted to slap them both for making such a bet. But, what could he do besides throw down two fifty dollar bills and knock back his last shot of Cuervo Gold.

"Fuck it." He said. "My money's on Letty not giving it up."

"It's on." Leon declared.


	3. Karma

_**Chapter 3: Karma**_

"Aye, Letty." Leon was the first to greet the Latina when she entered the shop that morning.

"Hey, Leon. Hey Jesse." She headed towards the back to deposit her gym bag. Walking past Dom, she gave him a quick word which was met with a head nod and nothing more. Her eyebrows furrowed but she shrugged it off as early morning grumpiness. When she came back out, she turned her attention to her new partner-in-crime.

"Jess, I was hoping you could show me more on how to write code for the Nav system reboot."

"Sure. Yeah, I'm actually working on it n-."

"I need you to keep working on the transmission, Letty." Dom interjected. "The parts you need were overnighted."

Letty gave a slow nod and gave Jesse an apologetic half-shrug. Patronizingly, she added to Dom, "You got it, boss."

She worked hard that morning and well past lunchtime. She replaced most of the hard parts of the transmission and by the time the boys had returned from lunch, she'd already begun reassembling it to meet factory specifications. She was just adding the newer, soft parts when Leon came to stand beside her.

"I brought you lunch since you worked right through it." He replied, offering her what looked like a wrapped sub sandwich.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." She held up her hands to show that they were filthy, so he sat it on her work station. "What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. It's on the House."

She thanked him again and continued on with her work while he watched for a few minutes.

"It looks like you'll be done by tomorrow." He mentioned, awed.

"Most likely," agreed Letty. "I think Tony wanted three days of labor from this project, but it wasn't too hard to rebuild."

"I'm impressed."

She smirked. "Because I'm a girl?"

"I'd be lying if I said no. You're a really skilled mechanic."

"I was always into cars since I was like ten years old. So, I got to know a thing or two about them."

"And then you became a cheerleader because it keeps you around cars all the time?" While he'd meant for it to be a joke, the words came out condescendingly and infuriated the brunette.

Rolling her eyes, Letty stopped what she was doing and stood to her full height. "First, I'm not a cheerleader. I'm a dancer, and my reasons for becoming one are just that… _mine_. Does that mean I have less of your respect because I dance for a paycheck? Would it make more sense to you if I were taking my clothes off while doing it?"

"Whoa, whoa, Letty, I was just trying to get to know you a little better."

"What's the problem here?" Dom's baritone voice cut in. Letty could feel the heat from his body radiating through the back of her tank top. She shifted slightly to include him the conversation.

"Nothing." She replied. The Latina was fierce, and she could handle herself without a man's interference.

"It didn't sound like nothing."

"It was my mistake. I made a joke and it was obviously in bad taste."

Dom looked from Leon to Letty who'd crossed her arms over her chest, obviously on the defensive, and back. "Lee, run over to Harry's and pick up the painted parts."

Leon looked at Letty as if he wanted to say something… anything that would help the situation. But the way both Dom and Letty were looking at him, he knew anything he said would only make matters worse. So, he nodded at his boss and started towards the exit of the shop.

"You okay?"

"I could have handled it myself."

"I know you could've. I was afraid for Leon's life." Dom said. He looked down to her small stature and grinned. It was apparently contagious because her lips twitched into a small smile as well. "So, what happened?"

"I just have boundaries and he doesn't seem to."

"He's a good guy, I swear. It's just sometimes, he has diarrhea of the mouth."

That got a chuckle out of Letty. It was one of the sweetest sounds Dom had ever heard. And when it faded, they locked eyes for a few heartbeats. Letty broke contact first, clearing her throat.

"So, are you, uh, going to the game tonight?"

"Yeah, season tickets. Courtside. Courtesy of Elena."

Letty's arms crossed back over her chest and she nodded her head. "Of course."

"What about you?" He asked and then immediately kicked himself. "That was a dumb question, of course you'll be there."

Letty smirked. _Was Dom Toretto… nervous?_

"Listen, afterwards a bunch of us go to the Waffle House. You should come."

"'A bunch of us' as in-?"

"Me, Vince, Jesse, Elena, the two other dancers Mia and Rosa and Leon."

"Pass."

"Pass?"

"Yeah, I think you should brush up on your Letty and Elena history."

"I know a little."

"Oh yeah? Like your girlfriend is a little-."

"Hey, hey." Dom warned, playfully pointing a finger at her. She held her hands up in surrender. "She's an acquired taste is all."

"Yeah, sure. That's it, big guy." She patted his shoulder in a patronizing manner, and a spark of static shock shot through her skin and onto his. They paused for a moment before Dom's posture straightened right before Letty's eyes,

"So, I guess I'll see you there." He turned and stalked off.

Letty raised her eyebrows at his abrupt dismissal. She thought they were making progress. Obviously, she thought wrong.

* * *

_Staples Center, 8:57PM_

"Showtime in three minutes, ladies!" Coach Riley shouted into the dressing room. There was a flurry of activity as the girls attempted to put the finishing touches on their makeup, hair and dance costumes.

"Hey, how's it going at the garage?" Mia whispered, conspiratorially, as she and Letty made her way through the room and towards the hallway.

"Fine." Letty replied, suspiciously. "Why?"

"Is it weird working for Dom?"

"I wouldn't know since he barely says 'hi' or 'bye' to me."

"Just the way Elena wants it, I'm sure."

"Oh, certainly." Letty replied. "Though I'm not sure why. It's not like I'm attracted to him or anything."

"She just wants to control his every move. And if she hates you, Dom has to hate you too."

Letty's eyebrows went up. She was about to respond but was interrupted when the other girls began to assemble behind them in their entrance formation. Elena walked up, "accidentally" bumping Letty's shoulder as she took her spot in front of everyone.

"Talk later?" Letty whispered.

"Come to the Waffle House tonight."

"Hell no."

"You'll be there."

"No I wo-."

"…the Los Angeles Lady Lancers!" the announcer yelled over the PA system. The gym's double doors opened and with huge, fake smiles plastered on their faces, the girls ran onto the court to the sound of cheering fans and flashing lights. As the crowd quieted down the lights dimmed, the fade-in of their music started and a spotlight shone brightly on them.

The routine wasn't Letty's favorite, not that many were, because of its cheer vibe mixed with a few jazz moves. Soutenu pique turns fell easily into a high-kicked pirouette followed by a leap turn. A shake of the hips and ass got the crowd cheering just before the bass dropped and when Letty turned towards the home court audience, she almost faltered in her movements.

Dom Toretto was leaned forward, forearms on his knees, staring directly at her body, seemingly entranced by her dancing. On the next beat, she turned and ran to her position beside Mia for their final formation. Mia's lips curved into a smirk when she followed Letty's gaze to Elena's boyfriend. When he saw that he'd caught her eye, he sat back in his chair and whipped his focus back to Elena in the center.

_Oh, this was too good!_, Mia mused.

The dancers formed a line to the beat, their hips moving, she poked her ass out against Mia's chest while the entire line leaned over. In a burlesque move, she let her hand travel up side of Rosa's calf, knee and then thigh and Mia's traveled up hers. And on the ending beat, each girl gave a light smack to the ass of the girl in front of her and the stadium went dark.

The crowd went wild; they continued to cheer as the girls cautiously ran out of the stadium, disappearing before the lights came back on.


	4. Dharma

_A/N: Hey, just so you guys know, Brian will be in this story, I promise. I could never forget about Paul Walker; may he race in paradise._

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Dharma**_

"...thing I know, I'm ass naked, and I turn around and her little old grandma is standing there with groceries, staring at my junk."

Letty burst out into laughter. Leave it to her brother to find himself in the most insane predicaments. And they usually always ended with him being ass naked in some girl's apartment.

"What'd you say?"

"I asked if I could help with the groceries."

The brunette laughed harder. "Nico, you seriously have to get your shit together. You're not a frat boy anymore."

"Once a Kappa, always a Kappa." He argued. "Anyway, she appreciated the help. What with her arthritis and all that."

Nico had followed his sister home as he did most nights after home games. Some of the girls had had their fair share of stalkers in the past and he did not want his sister to end up on the eleven o'clock news. Once she'd parked, he drove up beside her, blocking her from opening the driver's side door, and demanded that she climb into his passenger seat so they could get something to eat.

"Yeah, what a gentleman." Letty deadpanned, rolling her eyes. She pulled her long, dark hair over one shoulder to stop it from whipping in the warm summer breeze.

"I meant to ask how it is working at the shop."

"It's good, I guess. My boss's son is kind of wishy washy."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. It's nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Dad always says 'nothing can't not matter'."

"It's just strange. He offered me the job on the spot and then I start working there and he's giving me the cold shoulder."

Nico glanced over at his baby sister and grinned, nodding his head. "_Oh_, I get it."

"Get what?"

"You like this dude."

"Where did that even come from?"

"'He offered me the job and now he's giving me the cold shoulder'," mimicked Nico in a high-pitched voice. "Since when do you care if some guy gives you the time of day or not?"

"I don't. It's just," she searched for what she wanted to say, "rude."

"It's... rude?" Nico didn't believe a word Letty was saying, and his tone made that completely clear.

"I'm done talking about this with you."

"Oh, now she's defensive, ladies and gentlemen," Nico announced to an invisible audience.

Letty leaned over and punched her brother in the arm.

"Ow. I'm telling Mom."

"Tell her! She'll get the same treatment."

"You'd hit your own mother? After she forced your big ass head out of her vagina?"

"Gross! Can we _not_ talk about Mom's vagina?"

"Don't be childish, Leticia."

"Don't be gross, Nicolas."

Looking thoroughly pleased with himself, Nico slowed down as he turned into a large parking lot.

"Oh, hell no. Nico, why would you bring me here?"

In lit, gold lettering, 'WAFFLE HOUSE' took up one side of the building. Through the large glass windows, one could see the dining patrons inside. Closer to the back, Letty could just make out Mia and Dom sitting by the window in one of the plastic red booths. Next to them were unidentifiable faces. Someone said something funny and the entire table threw their heads back, laughing heartily.

"Mia invited me."

"That sneaky little-."

"Hey, she's nice."

Letty cocked an eyebrow and looked at her brother. "_Ohh_, _now_ I get it."

"Get what?"

"You like this chick."

"Shut up and play nice."

They stepped inside of the diner-style restaurant and were spotted instantaneously by Mia who waved Nico and Letty over.

"I'm not sitting with them," muttered Letty as they got closer. Nico draped his muscular arm over his sister's shoulder so she couldn't get away.

"Oh, look, your boyfriend's here," Nico whispered, conspiratorially.

"Shut up."

"Nico, you made it!" Mia perked up from her corner spot in the booth. Rosa sat next to her and Leon sat on the end.

"Hey, Mia."

From the other side of the booth, Letty heard a snide, "Hey, butch."

"Hey, bitch." Letty immediately shot back at Elena. She saw Dom's eyes widened and felt her brother's arm tightened around her neck in a warning.

Breaking the tension, Rosa inquired, "You guys want to sit with us?"

"No."

At the same time, Nico replied, "Sure." He pulled two wooden chairs from a center table and put them at the end of the booth, forcing his sister down into one of them. She crossed her arms over her breasts and sat, silently. All the while, Elena shot daggers at Letty.

Fifteen minutes of chatter commenced, interrupted by a waitress coming to take their orders. Jesse and Letty conversed about technology and cars while everyone else talked about the game. Seats were changed around to allow conversational convenience. Nico ended up in the corner with Mia next to him, Leon switched with Dom, who said he felt confined in the small corner. Returning from the bathroom, Elena found herself beside Rosa, who separated her from Letty. Now on the plastic booth seat, Letty was directly next to Dom and right across from Jesse.

"So, we know what Letty does," Mia was saying, "what do you do, Nico?"

Letty let out a 'ha!' This was going to be good. He always came up with some incredibly lame and completely false job occupation to impress women. As far as Letty knew, he'd been a doctor, an attorney, a model and a talent manager.

"I own a gym."

Letty blew out a puff of air. _Whoa, the truth?_ That was new. He must really like Mia. Or really want to get her into bed. She never really knew when it came to her brother.

"That's awesome. I'll have to come there on my workout days, instead."

"You should."

Letty rolled her eyes and leaned her forearms on the table. Dom gave a derisive laugh. She looked over at him and they locked eyes for a few heartbeats. She rubbed the back of her neck and the ghost of smirk pulled at his features; neither broke eye contact, not even when the two servers brought over the huge order of foods for the table. People reached over others to sample food and share theirs.

"Dom!" Elena exclaimed. He blinked and tore his attention from Letty and to his girlfriend.

"Yeah?"

With a full on attitude, Elena demanded, "I'm ready to go."

"The food just got here."

"And now I'm ready to go." She replied. Dom sat back and wrenched his keys from his pocket, handing them to her.

"Go crazy."

"You're not coming with me?"

"E, I'm starving. There's nothing to eat at those fucking games but junk food."

"Exactly, and the prices are ridiculous. Five bucks for a pretzel? Give me a break." Jesse added. Elena shot him a look, warning him to stay out of their conversation.

"Fine," she huffed, snatching the keys from his hand, "Rosa, Mia are you guys coming?"

Mid-laugh at something that Nico was saying, Mia shook her head and gestured for Elena to go ahead without her.

"Nah, you go ahead," Rosa responded, "I'm going to hang out for a little while longer."

Elena huffed again, turned on her heels and stormed out of the Waffle House.

"I take it you'll be in the dog house for a few days?" Letty asked, her voice quiet compared to the loud chatter of their mutual friends.

He shrugged, uncaring. "Probably. It's nothing new, though. I'm always there for one thing or another."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"For getting you into trouble."

"What makes you think it was your fault?"

Letty wanted to tell him that they both knew it was a fifty-fifty effort on her part as well as Dom's. She wanted to say that Elena was furious at them for having an exclusory eye conversation. But the truth was, she wasn't positive. Letty didn't know where her own head was at the moment, let alone Dom's.

Instead, she just shrugged her shoulder and turned her attention back to Jesse.


	5. Kali-Yuga

_Chapter 5: Kali-Yuga_

Okay, she could admit when she was wrong. Nico had practically kidnapped her and dragged her through the Waffle House doors, but she had a great time. Once Elena took her leave, taking the tension with her, the group laughed louder, ate unhealthily and talked more freely. Rosa and Mia, high on life, taught Nico and Jesse a dance routine in the middle of the establishment despite it being against the rules. Letty, Leon and Dom spoke theatrically about work.

"Jesus, it's almost two in the morning." Letty said, stretching and pushing her hair back. Most of it landed on Dom's arm which rested along the back of the booth. He didn't seem to mind the dark silk against his tanned skin.

"Yeah, we should get going."

"I don't think your brother is done having fun yet," mentioned Leon.

The three occupants of the booth turned to see Nico swirling his hips and the girls laughing hysterically at his antics. Letty rolled her eyes.

"I knew I should have driven my own car."

"I can give you a lift, if you want." Leon offered.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure it's out of your way."

"I'm already going out of my way to take DT home, I mind as well take you, too." Leon insisted.

That made since; after all Elena had taken Dom's car home. "Okay, yeah. That'd be cool. Thanks."

"No problem."

The bill, which had been sitting there for about an hour, was split between them; each threw down twenty-five bucks. Once the four Musketeers were finished their dancing, they'd put money down as well.

"Ay!" Letty called out to her brother. "We're out." She motioned between herself and her co-workers

"You'll be alright?" Nico inquired.

She knew what he was really asking; did she feel safe? Did she trust these guys.

"Yeah, I'll be good."

"Call me when you get in."

"I always do."

In the parking lot, Leon went out of his way to open the back passenger side door for her, closing it when she was seated. Dom shook his head.

"You're so lame, bro."

"How is that lame? I'm being a gentleman." Leon asked.

"Yeah, for all the wrong reasons." Dom opened the passenger door to get it, shutting it behind him. Leon furrowed his eyebrows at his friend as he rounded the car and got in behind the steering wheel. Letty had heard their exchange, and while it was a bit muffled through the closed door, her brow creased and she wondered why they were talking about her.

"So, who's first? Who lives closer?"

"I'm like fifteen minutes up the I-110."

"You're closer." Dom interjected.

"Got it. Just give me directions as we go, Let."

"Okay."

For the most part, the ride was in silence, music playing over the radio.

"So," Leon started, "it looks like your brother took a liking to Mia."

"It's rare that my brother _doesn't_ take a liking to anything with two legs and a vagina."

Leon snorted. "Sounds like someone I know." He nodded his head over at Dom.

"Really? Dom you're a little player then?"

Dom shrugged. "Not anymore."

"He's been good since Elena sunk her claws into him."

"Why?"

"I like her."

"Again, I ask why?" Letty asked, leaning forward in her seat, her head poking between the front seats to peek at him. He shrugged again, uncomfortable with not only the conversation, but also with Letty's proximity.

"She's hot."

Letty tilted her head side to side, agreeing half-heartedly. "Eh, if I swung that way, I'd bang her too. But what else is there to like about her?"

"Why don't you tell me why you don't like her?"

"Because she doesn't like me," replied Letty in a 'duh' tone. It was just that simple.

"Maybe she's jealous."

"I'll never understand women being envious of another woman. It's pointless. If we all supported each other, men wouldn't be in control."

Dom agreed with what Letty was saying. She was brains, brawn and beauty all wrapped into a tanned, tight, fucking hot little package.

_Whoa, where did that come from?_

Dom shook his head to clear those thoughts from his mind.

"I mean, I have no idea why Elena doesn't like me. Maybe it's because I see her. Truly see her with her insecurities and imperfections. I didn't become one of her sidekicks and I guess that stems from my independence. My free-thinking bothers her." Letty lifted a shoulder and let it drop back down as she sat back. "Whatever."

"Damn. That's deep." Leon chanced a glance back at her and then back at the road.

"Left here." She directed him. "And then make a right two lights up."

"I think you intimidate people with your independence." Dom continued. "Maybe you shove your free-thinking into people's faces as a defense mechanism."

"Excuse me?" Letty sat up again. Her heart started to race and she could feel her face and chest heating with anger. "Defense against _what_ exactly? I'm not scared of anything."

"Well, that's ego for sure." Dom twisted in his seat to face her, his muscles tightening with the urge to reach out and grab her. He wasn't sure why he was picking a fight with her, but what he was certain of was that her fury (and his own) was turning him on.

"Ego? You don't know anything about me." Letty shot back in disbelief. "Not that you're even trying to get to know me, since you've been giving me the cold shoulder since I started working at the garage. That's weak is what it is."

"Weak?" Oh, he was really furious now.

"Two lefts here," she commanded before turning to Dom, "yeah, weak. I'm not stupid; the only reason you're not talking to me is because your little girlfriend told you not to. That's weak."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, okay." She pushed her hair back, trying to get a little air. "Stop here."

Leon stopped the car in a residential neighborhood. "Is this your place?"

"No, but I can't spend another second in this car with your asshole friend. Thanks for the lift." She opened the car door and slammed it shut, starting to walk down the street. She was still about a ten minute walk from home, but she didn't mind it.

"Letty, wait!" Dom jogged after her as she turned down a pristine alleyway, a shortcut to her home. "Letty!"

"What?" She whipped around to face him.

"Get in the car."

"No."

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Maybe it's a defense mechanism," she mocked, continuing her walk. Again, Dom jogged to catch up and he gently grabbed her bicep. In the blink of an eye, she had a hold of his wrist, pulling it off of her arm and had pushed him against a high, wooden fence. They locked eyes.

Both of their chests were heaving in sync and the energy between them crackled with something that was sure to get them both into trouble. His wrist burned where she was touching it, and not because of her tight grip. It sparked a flame through his entire being. Letty felt it too. Her entire body recognized that she hadn't let a man into her bed since her affair in London with Owen.

That was six months ago when the dance team had attended London Fashion Week.

Now, this man who was clearly off limits to her reminded her that she loved a challenge.

When he spoke next, his voice was gravelly with want, "Get back in the car, Letty."

Her eyelids fluttered and she took a deep breath. The sound of Leon's car pulling up broke them apart. Letty dropped his wrist and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine." She pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear and shoved her hands inside her jean pockets, walking towards the car.

_Fuck she was in so much trouble._


	6. Chakras

_**Chapter 6: Chakras**_

_DT's Auto Garage, 10:00AM_

"There she is." Leon announced Letty's arrival at the shop the next morning.

"Hey." She passed by everyone, gently squeezing Jesse's arm in greeting as she did so. Letty put her gym bag in the office. When she turned around to leave, she and Dom nearly collided. Reaching out to stop herself from bumping into him, Letty found her hand pressed against his chest. Underneath her fingers, his heart beat a thousand times a minute.

"Sorry," he muttered, stepping around her, effectively moving her hand from his chest.

"Yeah, sorry."

That was the extent of their conversation that day. On several occasions, Dom opened his mouth to comment on whatever dialogue was being tossed back and forth, but stopped himself for some reason. He insisted that they engage in less talk and more work. Things were hectic with Vince gone on the vacation he'd been bragging about for the past month. Dom hoped his best friend was having a great time, because he certainly wasn't. And that brought his thoughts full circle back to Letty. After all, Vince's vacation was the primary reason she'd been hired.

"Dom, you want us to bring you something back from the pizza shop?" Leon asked, he and Jesse standing by the door.

Dom looked up from under radiator he was installing. "Nah, I'm good."

They took their leave and before he turned back to the task at hand, he glanced in the direction of Letty's workspace to see her wiping her hands on a rag. Sighing, he stood to his full height.

"I'm not weak."

Letty closed her eyes and let out a breath through her eyes. She knew this was going to happen. While she would have been more than happy to just forget last night ever happened, it was obvious that they both had some things they needed to get off of their chest.

"And I don't shove my free-thinking down anyone's throat." The brunette crossed her arms. "You don't know anything about me, except that I'm good with cars and I'm on a professional dance team."

"You don't know anything about me either." He mentioned.

"Because you won't let me."

"Look who's talking!"

"You haven't asked anything about me." She countered.

Dom backed down and leaned against the edge of the car. "It's not that easy."

"Why not?"

"Because!"

Letty gave a sarcastic chuckle and switched her attention back to the car she was inspecting. "Whatever."

"That's it? 'Whatever'? End of conversation?"

Standing back up, Letty pressed her hand to her forehead before gesturing randomly. "What else is there to say?"

"Letty, I'm trying to meet you halfway here, so that there's not all of this… tension between us."

"Oh my god, Dom! What do you want me to say? I'm twenty-three. I graduated from high school, did two years of college before I decided that journalism was not where I wanted to be because the entire field of journalism is going to Hell in a hand basket. I watch indie films on Sundays while ignoring my mother's phone calls because she's the person that I least want to talk to… _about anything_. I'm allergic to peanuts, and shellfish. My brother is one of my best friends because he just gets shit, and I don't like chocolate. Happy?"

Dom stood there, stunned for a few moments. Truth be told, he wasn't happy. He wasn't pleased. And he didn't feel the relief he thought he'd feel once he learned about her. It made him like her all the more. And that was an emotion he could not allow himself. Not while he was still with Elena, and he was still with Elena, despite her texts that morning telling him to go fuck himself. If he knew her, he knew she'd be calling or texting him within the next few hours asking him to come over.

"My best friend is Vince, with Leon in a close second. Jesse is like my little brother and I always feel protective of him. My dad named this shop DT's because along with my birth, he knew this shop would be his baby too. I _don't_ watch indie films. Instead I spend my Sundays watching marathons of _Top Gear: UK_ so that I can try to understand why the _hell_ people actually like foreign cars. I'm twenty-six and I'm in a relationship with a woman who doesn't know if she wants to be hot or cold. And it wasn't until some mean woman with a flat tire waltzed into my garage that I started to question why I was even in this relationship."

Letty inhaled sharply and her eyelids fluttered. Her brain processed his rushed confession and tried to come up with an appropriate response. In a shaky voice, she got as far as "We can't do—", before Leon and Jesse walked back into the shop, bearing lunch. So, the two turned away from each other and back to their work.

* * *

The rest of the week went by without a hitch; mostly because Letty was avoiding Dom at all costs. She made sure she was never alone with him in the shop. It was easier at the games and after practice because Dom was forced to stand by Elena's side and look handsome while she gave commands and shot snarky comments Letty's way.

By Sunday, Letty welcomed the quiet peace of her apartment. This was normal, and safe. She laid in bed for an extra hour, lazily swiping through her phone. She responded to a few of Mia's texts about Nico and then tossed the device onto her nightstand. Letty took a long, hot shower, washing away the entire week. When she was through, she applauded herself for only thinking about Dom Toretto twice. Back in the comfort of her bedroom, Letty hopped back into bed and reached for her ringing phone.

"What?" She answered, not bothering to look at the screen. Everyone knew not to bother her on her sacred Sundays.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to hear from me."

"Owen?" Good Lord, his accent sounded even sexier over the phone.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Of course not. What's up?"

"I know today is your stay in bed and forget the world day so I'll make this quick. I'll be in LA on business the week after next and it'd be lovely to, uh, catch up with you."

Letty smirked. His timing couldn't have been better. This was the perfect opportunity to forget about Dom's carelessly uttered remarks. "I'd like that. Let me know when you're in town."

"I will."

And with that, they both hung up. Letty turned her phone on silent and put it back on her nightstand. She laid against the pillows and reminisced on the fun she and Luke had together. He'd brought out the even wilder side of her. He was a major funder for London Fashion Week and the moment he saw Letty step into his runway tent, he knew he had to have her, even if it was only for five or so days. They'd had sex pretty much anywhere they wanted, including backstage during a Carolina Herrera fashion show, and in the back of his limo. It was the one insane affair that Letty ever had.

Trailing her right hand up her smooth, warm thigh, Letty slipped her hand under towel and between her legs. Closing her eyes, she remembered the things she allowed Owen to do to her.

_In a hotel room, Letty raised her right leg onto Owen's shoulder as he bore forward, deeper into her heat. They groaned their pleasure in unison as they began a frantic pace. Twenty minutes was all they had. Six of which would be used to clean themselves up, so Letty could head back downstairs to meet Mia for lunch._

"_Fuck," she moaned, lifting her hips to meet his every thrust._

"_You feel amazing wrapped so tightly around my cock." _

_The brunette groaned again. For the love of God, that accent was an aphrodisiac in itself. She swore she could come just by listening to him talk. And he knew it._

"_I'm going to make you hurt so good, you'll feel me every time you move." He licked two of his fingers and shoved them between their joined bodies. Pressing them firmly against her clit, Owen rubbed furiously in time to the thrusts of his hips. She could feel her orgasm approaching quickly. And he felt it too; the fluttering of her walls were a dead giveaway._

"_Oh god!"_

"_That's it, Letty. Give it up to me."_

Just then, as fantasy Letty opened her eyes to look at Owen's face, it was replaced by Dom's. And she couldn't stop. She was so close. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and her eyes squeezed shut as the brunette flew over that very blissful cliff into oblivion.

When she caught her breath and realized what just happened, Letty shouted to the ceiling, "Fuck you, Dom!

Indie films would have to wait, she needed to go punch something.


	7. Guru

_**Chapter 7: Guru**_

_Friday, Los Angeles Stadium, 3:46PM_

"Your lover is watching our practice today." Mia murmured, seductively in Letty's ear.

"What?" Letty inquired. She was confused; Mia knew about Owen, but he wasn't supposed to arrive for another five days.

"Dom," clarified Mia.

"Oh, please," scoffed Letty as she slipped into a light blue t-shirt with the Los Angeles Lancers logo on the front. She pulled her hair from inside the collar and turned to look at Mia. "Stop saying things like that."

Instead of responding, Mia simply shrugged and smirked.

What was strange was that Letty had left the garage two hours ago and Dom had made no mention of coming to see their practice. Of course, that was because she was still avoiding him. And he avoided her. Leon, on the other hand, made sure he was the center of attention at all costs; he struck up random conversations with her, insisted on helping her complete her tasks and offered to grab lunch for her. He was acting like a boyfriend. It frustrated Letty to no end.

A tug on her ponytail brought Letty back to the present. Rosa leaned against the locker next to hers. "Mia, you tell your girl that her man is gonna be here today."

"She knows. She denies," sighed Mia.

Letty's brows furrowed. Parting her lips to speak, Letty was cut off by Rosa.

"We saw you two at the diner the other night. You two have too much in common not to be meant to be."

"Except we're not meant to be. He's just a co-worker. My boss, actually. That's all."

Mia and Rosa didn't say another word, but Letty missed the look they gave each other.

* * *

"One and two and three and four! Shake, shake! No! Stop the music! Stop!" Coach Riley shouted. Somewhere in the sound box, someone cut the music and the gym was filled with silence. The girls froze in the positions they were in and turned to look at her. Coach wasn't in the most pleasant of moods, though she rarely was, and she was taking it out on the girls.

It wasn't even midway through practice and Letty was beyond ready to just call it quits. She wiped her face on her tank top and pulled her ponytail tighter.

"…so sorry that the concept of _actual hard work_ is too much for you ladies. Start again, from the top!" Riley shouted. No sooner had she finished berated them, the door to the gym swung open and Dom walked in followed by Jesse and Leon. Dom caught her gaze but before Letty could process the expression on Dom's face, the music started again and she was forced back into her starting position by Mia's hands on her shoulders.

Ten minutes later, during a water break and a fight with herself to avoid him, Letty's eyes accidentally turned to Dom in one of the courtside seats.

It was the biggest mistake of her life.

His eyes were piercing as they took her in. The look on his face was intense, determined even, and it made her heart pound. Letty took a deep breath, ran her fingers through her ponytail and reluctantly turned to speak with Rosa. _What the hell was he doing to her?_

Dom sat in the chair, chin resting on his fist. His jaw clenched when his eyes caught hers and he wanted tried to will away an oncoming erection. This was Letty for crying out loud; she worked for his father and he was already in a relationship. But hell, he was taken, not blind. The woman had a body that was out of this world and a mouth that could shoot poisonous darts if she felt so inclined. _What the fuck was she doing to him?_

* * *

Practice went fifteen minutes longer than it was supposed to and Letty couldn't have been happier when Coach Riley dismissed them. All she wanted was a long shower and a chicken and mushroom pizza. She grabbed her water bottle and headed to the locker room, only to be stopped by a hand pulling against the crook of her arm.

She whipped around, ready to throw a punch at whoever dared to touch her without her permission, and was greeted by Dom's apprehensive expression and close proximity.

"What?" She tried for anger, but the inquiry came out breathy and she hated herself just a little bit for it.

"You know what." Dom tried to sound angry and put off, instead his words managed to sound almost like a whine.

Letty yanked her arm from his grasp, and crossed them over her chest. "I don't want to talk about-."

"We have to."

"Why don't invite Elena to that conversation? She might have a little insight."

"Look, I just think we should have a conversation about what was said in the garage. Then maybe we can push our feelings to the side and be able to work peacefully together."

Letty considered this. What he was saying actually made a lot of sense. Perhaps she's misunderstood what he was trying to say in the shop. Maybe she took it the wrong way.

"Fine," she relented, "talk."

"Now?"

Letty raised her eyebrow as if to say 'when else are we going to talk?'.

"Can we go to lunch this week or something?"

Sighing, Letty allowed her posture to relax and pulled tendrils of hair away from her face. "Yeah, fine."

With her acquiescence, Dom breathed a sigh of relief and Letty smirked.

"Do I make you nervous?"

"You make me tense."

"Why? Are you afraid of me?"

"I'm afraid of what you could potentially do to me."

"Physically?"

Dom raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but just then the door the changing room opened and Mia and Rosa stepped out, their conversation quieting.

"Hey, Dom." They spoke in unison, conspiratorially.

"Ladies," acknowledged Dom. When they passed, Letty looked back at Dom, still waiting for his answer.

"We'll talk this week."

She nodded and turned to enter the locker room.

Dom let out a puff of air and rubbed his bald head.

_**Fucking Letty Ortiz.**_


	8. Ananda

_**Chapter 8: Ananda**_

_DT's Auto Garage, Tuesday, 4:33PM_

"Leticia."

Letty actually froze and dropped the screwdriver she was using and her eyes widened slightly. The masculine voice was all reverb and pure seduction, and only one man ever called her by her given name. The way exhaled her name as if it was the only name that he valued enough to remember.

"Owen," she breathed. She had barely stood to her full height and turned when she was pulled into his strong arms. He pressed his lips to hers and she immediately felt her body heat.

When someone cleared their throat, Letty tried to pull away from Owen, he allowed a small distance but kept his arm around her waist.

"Uh, sorry." Letty turned to see Dom, his arms crossed and his eyes blazing with some unknown emotion. "Owen Shaw, Dom Toretto. Dom, this is Owen."

"Pleasure." Owen replied, his accent practically melting Letty's panties off. She'd forgotten how handsome he was, even in jeans and a fitted henley shirt.

The Englishman held his hand out for Dom to shake. When Dom didn't budge, Letty shot him a warning look. _Be nice_, it read.

"Or not." He retracted his arm and shoved it in the pocket of his dark denims. "When are you off?"

Dom shook his head and turned back to his work, not caring to see the public displays of affection. The loud banging and slamming that he did should have been a hint to Letty that he didn't appreciate or like what he was seeing. Letty, however, was too wrapped up in

"Another half hour or so."

"God, that's a terribly long time from now." He ran his eyes up and down her body, remembering the tight, soft feel of her skin against his. "I'll wait for you, then."

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that. I still have to go home and get changed."

"Then I'll come pick you up."

Letty smirked. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "If we make it out of your place."

Letty laughed. "I forgot how cocky you were."

"I'll have you know they teach confidence in all UK schools."

"They do not."

"Don't believe me, then." He pressed another kiss to her lips and finally released her, albeit reluctantly. "I'll see you in a half hour. Text me your address."

When he took his leave, Letty pivoted on her heels and refocused her attention to the problem at hand.

"You can leave now if you want." Dom mentioned, tossing a wrench onto a workbench.

"Is that an offer or an order?"

"It's whatever you want it to be, Letty." Dom replied, clearly exasperated with her. Letty didn't understand why.

Letty took a breath and leaned against the car, crossing her arms over her chest. Dom, his back to her, scribbled some notes down on a sheet of paper.

"Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?"

"If you're not too busy with Owen."

"Oh god. Don't tell me you're jealous."

"Of what?"

"Owen."

He whirled around, his brows furrowed. "Why would I be jealous of Owen?"

"I don't know that's why I'm asking!" Letty's voice was rising and her blood was beginning to boil.

Dom just rubbed a hand over his bald head. Letty was beginning to notice that this was his tell. When there was something he wanted to say or when he was feeling something overwhelming, he'd rub his hand over his head and seemingly count to ten under his breath.

"Yes, we're still on for lunch tomorrow."

This was what made Letty want to wring his neck. _How could he be the provocateur and the bigger person that ended the argument?_

The brunette sighed, pushing her dark hair back. "Marsala's at two?"

Dom nodded. "Yeah."

They returned to their work and Letty hoped that once they had a nice, long talk, things would be easier. She didn't want to have to quit the garage; it was a nice change from the giltz, glamour and drama from dancing.

* * *

_Letty's condo, 7:00PM_

"Two more minutes, I just have to put on my shoes."

The moment Letty opened the door dressed in a form-fitting little black dress she knew they weren't making it out of her place. Owen's eyes immediately trailed all the way down to her manicured toes and back up her body, his gaze meeting hers.

"You like?"

"I love, but," he pushed off of the doorway, swaggering into her apartment, "I'd like to see what it looks like on your boudoir floor."

Letty cocked an eyebrow and her laugh turned into a squeal as he picked her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist, and carried her through the condo in search of a bedroom.

In a flurry of clothes and undergarments, Letty and Owen kissed furiously, getting to know one another's taste once again. Owen lavished her neck with attention while his hands tried to be everywhere at once.

"I missed you," panted Owen.

"Liar." Letty replied. Her hand reached around and pulled his head to hers, kissing him deeply.

Pulling back just a bit, Owen pressed his forehead against Letty's. "I did."

It was the genuine truth in his words that made Letty uncomfortable. She liked Owen, and she had missed him too. Letty liked what he could do to her body; he made her feel good. But things were complicated. He lived in London. Her whole life was in Los Angeles.

And then there was Dom. He was-.

"Hey," Owen pulled her from her thoughts, his hand resting where her cheek met the line of her jaw, "don't think about this too much. I just wanted you to know."

The brunette's reluctant smile widened when Owen twisted his fist into her hair and said, "Enough talking."

* * *

_Wednesday, 1:45PM_

"Mm! God, yes!" Letty reached one hand up and squeezed her own bare breast as she rocked up and down and back and forth on Owen's hard shaft. He lie back, one hand behind his head and the other gripping her waist, his jaw clenching as he tried to put off his own climax in favor of hers. Which was well on its w-.

"Fuuuuuck! Unh!" The brunette rode out the shockwaves of pleasure and squealed when both of Owen's hands found her waist and he began jackhammering his hips upwards, giving her sensitive cunt every inch of him.

"Letty!" He filled the condom with his essence and Letty collapsed onto his chest. They panted heavily, chests heaving out of sync. Letty turned her head to the side to reach for a hair tie, only to see what time it was.

"Fuck! I've gotta go!" She rose off of Owen, both of them groaning at the sensation. On shaky legs, Letty ran around her room trying to put together a quick outfit. She couldn't let Dom think she was standing him up for lunch.

Amusement twinkling in his eyes, "And she's off."

"Fuck, I'm so late!" She muttered to herself. Giving him a half-glance, Letty ran into the bathroom to freshen up as much as she could. "Feel free to stay here if you want! I'll only be like an hour or two."

"That's quite alright, love. I've got a dinner meeting. Care to join?"

Leaving the bathroom in jean shorts and a white tank top, Letty grinned as she pinned up her hair. "Will we actually make it to dinner tonight?"

"Right, then you should probably meet me downstairs in the car at seven, just to be sure."

Smirking, Letty put on a pair of combat boots and shook her head. "That sounds like a wiser plan."

"Cheers, excellent." He watched in awe as she went from bare beauty to comfortable goddess and it made him like her even more. She ran grabbed a set of keys off of the dresser and started out of the room.

Seconds later, she ran back in and jumped on the bed, kissing his lips. "See you at seven."

He grinned. "That you will."


	9. Parvati

_**Chapter Nine: Parvati**_

_Marsala's, 2:15PM_

"Fuck, I'm so sorry I'm late." Letty rushed through the apology in the midst of pushing her wayfarers atop of her head and tossing her wallet and keys onto the outdoor table that Dom had chosen.

"It's fine." Was all he said as he waited for her to get herself situated. When the brunette sat down, she accidentally knocked her keys to the ground.

"_Fuck_."

"What's going on?"

When Letty reached for her keys, Dom's eyes widened.

"Letty, what the hell is that?"

Letty's eyebrows furrowed, retrieving her keys and turning her attention back to Dom.

"What's what?"

Gesturing to his own neck and then hers, Dom found himself at a loss for words. The noticeable red bruise where her shoulder met her neck had drawn Dom's attention.

"You let him do that to you?"

Letty was officially frustrated already, and they hadn't even ordered drinks yet. She saucily replied, "Among other things."

His jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth.

"I'm kidding." She shrugged. "Sort of."

Letty was sure she could see the vein in his neck about to burst. She smirked and put her arms on the table. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I'm just going to put this out there: I find you insanely attractive, and I don't just mean your body, which is," Dom shook his head, inhaling and exhaling his next words, "_sick_, by the way. You just make me rethink things in my life."

"Such as?"

"Elena, mostly," confessed Dom.

Letty eyed him, and leaned back in her chair, casually. "So, what is this like, our first date?"

"Letty," he sighed, "just forget I even said anything."

"Why? I'm being serious."

"No, you're not."

"I am. If this _is_ our first date, there are three things we should discuss." She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. "First, you need to make Elena disappear. I refuse to be a secret, a side chick or a sex buddy. I'm sure there are women that would love to be Dominic Toretto's little secret, but I'm not one of them. Second; you need to really ask yourself if your feelings are real. Do you just like that I challenge you? I won't lie, I enjoy when things get heated between us, and it makes for good passion. But," she tilted her head to the side, "is passion enough?

"What about romance, good conversation, and not just about cars. I mean, can we sit and have a long talk about any existential crisis that one of us might be having? Third; what about our mutual friends and acquaintances? How will they be affected by your decision to just drop Elena and date me? Are you willing to give up your self-respect because you think I'd make a good girlfriend?"

Dom sat at the table stunned. He didn't think she'd put much thought into their previous conversation in the garage. The way she laid down the law made his cock hard.

"Hey, guys. My name is Suki and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Yeah, can I have a water with lemon and an iced green tea, please?" Letty ordered smoothly.

"Sure, and for you?" Suki asked Dom.

"I'll have the same."

"Great," Suki wrote down their drinks, "do you guys know what you want to eat or do you need a few minutes?"

"Could you give us a few minutes, please?"

"Of course, I'll be back with your drinks."

While Suki bounced away, the perky energy that she left behind gave Dom more confidence to speak. He cleared his throat and sat forward in his chair.

"You're right. In this moment, I'm just going off of the feelings I have for you. I haven't stopped to think about how everyone else will be affected." Dom shrugged. "Besides, I feel kind of fucked up for acting off impulse."

"Why is that?"

"Goes against the Bro Code."

"Color me confused."

In that moment, Dom chuckled. "I can't tell you."

"Well, now you _definitely_ have to tell me."

"That would go against the Bro Code, too." He flipped open the cover of his menu and began looking through the entrees. "Steak and shrimp sounds good."

"Please," she begged.

"Oh no. Don't even try that?"

"Try what?" The brunette innocently asked.

"The Puss-in-Boots eyes. You're not gonna play me like a buster."

Letty laughed, "Come on, what is it?"

"Leon likes you."

She made a face. "What's not to like?"

"No, I mean he has a crush on you. There's a bet going on."

Letty cocked an eyebrow. "A bet?"

Dom nodded.

"And what exactly is this bet?"

Sighing, Dom sat back in his seat and rubbed a hand over his head; his tell. "I've already said too much."

"I don't think you've said anything at all."

"Just… save me a hundred bucks and just don't fall for his charms."

"I should kick your ass." She reached over the table and pinched his arm.

"Ow!" He yanked his arm back. "What was that for?"

"For being in on the bet, too."

"Yeah, _in favor_ of you."

From the context clues, Letty could pretty much guess what their wager was based on; she wasn't an airhead. Part of her wanted to hate Dom for going in, but another part thought it was sweet that he knew she wouldn't go for Leon. Shaking her head, she smirked.

"Where the fuck is Suki? I'm starving." She murmured, looking around. When Letty spotted the exotic waitress, carrying a tray with what looked like hers and Dom's drinks; Letty gave a casual wave of her hand, signaling that they were ready to order.

Once they had, the pair fell into an easy-going conversation about their lives. Letty enjoyed hearing about Dom growing up. Apparently, he'd been quite the troublemaker; she'd also found out that Anthony Toretto was a force to be reckoned with when it came to his discipline. Still, despite all of the spankings and groundings, Dom spoke about Tony as if he were God, himself.

Dom came to understand that Letty was a pretty open book when it came to herself. Her mom wasn't her favorite person, but she worshipped the ground her father and brother walked on. One thing he noticed, however, is that she never voluntarily talked to him about Owen. So, he took it upon himself to ask.

"What's the deal with this Owen guy? You guys dating or what?"

"Or what." Letty grinned. "He's not my boyfriend."

Dom nodded, sipping from his iced green tea and made a gesture with his hand as if to say "_go on_". Letty sat her fork down and sighed, rolling her eyes. He wouldn't give it up until she gave him _something_.

"The Lady Lancers represented during last London Fashion Week. He's a major funder of Fashion Week. Anyway, we met, and the attraction was there. One thing led to another-."

"I get it," Dom interrupted.

"Anyway, he's in LA on business this week. So he asked to see me."

"Are you happy that he's here?"

Letty actually thought about that. In Owen's mind, things seemed to have shifted to a more serious territory, which confused her. She wasn't opposed to the idea of a relationship; it's not as if she had a fear of commitment. Long distance relationships, however, just did not appeal to her. Owen was a gentleman and a kind of kinky, which was a plus, but she didn't see herself packing up and moving to London any time soon.

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"I have an itch, he scratches it."

"That is fucked up, Letty." Dom laughed. "Using a man for your pleasure is just… wrong."

"So wrong it's right?"

Dom shook his head at her, still chuckling. "I guess men have been doing it for centuries so it's about time that women get theirs too."

"Exactly."

They ate in comfortable silence for a while until Dom remembered something.

"Are you coming to family dinner at Cha Cha Cha tonight?"

"Family dinner?"

"The guys at the shop, dad included and I think mom is coming."

"And my new boyfriend, Leon?"

"Your new boy-?" Dom gritted his teeth, jokingly. "Don't fuck with me, Letty."

"Serves you right for putting money in that bet."

"For the last time, I bet-."

"Against Leon, yeah yeah. Do you guys do this every Wednesday?"

"Every Wednesday. No excuses."

"I would love to, but I already have plans."

"With Owen."

Not that it was any of his business, Letty found herself nodding hesitantly. "Yeah. He invited me to some dinner thing for his company."

"Well, the offer still stands for next Wednesday."

"Thanks."

_**Up Next: A disastrous dinner.**_

* * *

_**A/N: All mistakes are mine. I was going to go with the whole "Letty finds out about the bet and gets angry" storyline, but I felt like I've read it before or something. So I have something else up my sleeve.**_


	10. Apana

_A/N: This chapter was already written and the conversation had already been hinted at, but in light of Amandla Stenberg's video on cultural appropriation (which you should all check out), the topic was lengthened and this chapter was reborn. And speaking of being born, this chapter is for Rocio; congrats on your new bundle of love, girl!_

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Apana**_

It had been a very wise decision for Letty to meet Owen in the car. No sooner had he sank gracefully into his Jaguar beside her, his fingers began to caress the length of her exposed thigh.

"You look absolutely stunning." He'd whispered in her ear effectively causing goosebumps to rise against her smooth skin. When Owen noticed her reaction to him, he placed a gentle kiss behind her ear and trailed his finger closer to her inner thigh.

Letty had then the turned and titled her head as if she were going to kiss him, only to grab his hand and mutter, "You're not that charming."

Chuckling, Owen pressed a kiss to her cheek and conceded, "You can't blame a bloke for trying."

That had been nearly an hour and fifteen minutes ago. For now, Letty sat in _Spago_, the sleek, black and white designed restaurant that started Wolfgang Puck's empire and was still one of Los Angeles most iconic dining experiences. Around the large, circular table were four of Owen's business acquaintances, two of which had brought their exotic wives with them; or as Letty learned, their mistresses. The conversation was polite enough, but not enough for the brunette to ignore the constant leering of one: Mr. Johnny Tran.

It was innocent enough to begin with, a polite smile here or a secretive wink there whenever he told a joke that he believed to be clever. It was after the entrée dishes had been cleared and just before the dessert wine had been poured when Letty couldn't take it anymore. While the men talked numbers and dates, Letty excused herself from the table, the two other women following suit. All five men stood as they left; sitting once they'd sashayed off.

In the bathroom, Letty reapplied just a touch of her nude lipstick and fluffed her hair to give her curls a bit more volume while the other two women, Blondie and Barbie as Letty named them, tinkled and talked.

"Could this be any more of a snore-fest?" Barbie wondered aloud.

"Ugh, tell me about it," Blondie replied. "I seriously just want to just take off these shoes and get in bed."

"Letty, how did you meet Owen?" Barbie asked as she left the stall and headed in Letty's direction at the sinks.

"I met him in London while I was on vacation."

Blondie left her stall, inquiring, "And he flew all this way to see you?"

"No, I think he flew all this way for a few meetings."

"Oh, please. That man can't stop looking at you. He came here for you."

Letty simply smiled. "Speaking of staring, what's the deal with Johnny Tran?"

Barbie and Blondie looked at each other and started giggling. Letty's eyebrows furrowed.

"Did I say something?"

"No, honey," Barbie mentioned with just a hint of condescension in her tone, "Johnny loves himself a pretty, little Latina. If I'm not mistaken, he married one."

"But don't worry, though, he won't make a move on you." Blondie interjected. "Everyone is here to suck up to Owen. He wouldn't dare get on his bad side."

"Good to know."

The three women did a few last minute makeup and hair checks before heading back to their table. The men stood again, only sitting once the ladies had already done so.

"I hope you don't mind strawberries, melted chocolate and whipped cream for dessert." Owen asked, his voice low. "I remember it being a favorite of yours."

Letty smirked, remembering the look on the maid's face when she came to clean the sheets that Letty and Owen had destroyed with the sweet combination.

"I don't mind at all."

"What do you think, Owen?" Tran asked, pulling them back into conversation.

"Forgive me; I was distracted by this beauty beside me." Owen replied, smoothly. Letty shook her head; he really was a charming man.

"Carter seems to think that because Los Angeles is a melting pot, most food places are more authentic."

Letty's eyebrows went up, but she remained silent, waiting for Owen's reaction.

"I don't know if they're more authentic, but I will say that there's a strong sense of culture here."

"I disagree," Arturo Braga spoke up. He'd brought Barbie along and had been the main source of humor all night. "I don't think there's a strong enough sense of culture here. Mostly there are just Caucasians opening up Thai restaurants and calling them something catchy."

Letty liked Braga. He was right on so many levels. So she decided to speak up, "That brings up the debate of whether or not it's cultural exchange or cultural appropriation."

"Ah, and what say you on the topic?" Tran asked.

"I just feel that there are an awful lot of non-ethnic people who put down people of color or other cultures, but uplift the culture itself, putting their name on it and calling it something new."

"Especially when it comes to the fashion industry and Black culture," Braga added. "I mean, putting cornrows in your hair and wearing sagging pants and a grill in your mouth and calling it couture on a model is just as bad as calling the African-American kids in certain areas hoodlums or criminals."

"But you have to admit, that's what most Black criminals wear. White kids buying hip hop albums from gangster rappers who have been in prison want to wear their pants lower and big chains around their neck. They walk cooler and are more laid back." Tran replied. That statement alone was what was wrong with LA. People who thought like Tran felt that they were better than people who came from less fortunate neighborhoods.

"Are you kidding me? That's the exact definition of appropriation; criminalizing the person, but uplifting their culture. I wouldn't slap a headdress on and prance around a fire at Coachella because that's not who I am. That's not the blood that's running through my veins." Letty shot back.

"Don't get me wrong," Tran started, his tone bordering on patronizing, "I'm from the hood too, but-."

"That makes it worse!" Letty interrupted with her heart racing at the idiocy she was hearing. "You of all people should be furious that they're taking Mongolian, Chinese and Korean cuisine, taking out the seasonings, "fusing" it with French fries and calling it an innovative American dining experience. There's a word for that, it's called white-washing."

Carter grinned. He liked Letty. She was a spitfire for sure and it was high time someone had put Tran in his place.

She stood from her chair and Owen watched her in complete awe. The woman was highly opinionated and there was so much conviction in her words, that all he could do was gape at her. In the time that he'd gotten to know her, they hadn't really talked about political and racial topics. He loved that she had so much to say on the issue.

"You should ask yourself what California, and all of America would be if non-ethnic people loved those of other cultures as much as they love the culture. And people who came from el barrio or "the hood" or wherever, should be putting a collective foot down, taking a stand against this bullshit. A Hugo Boss suit and some Gucci loafers do not a white CEO make. If you think you have to be neutral on the subject because of the crowd you run in than you're as much of the problem as someone who doesn't believe cultural appropriation exists. Have a good evening gentleman."

Letty started towards the exit of the restaurant with Owen on her heels. He quickly signaled for the valet and jogged down the street where Letty was whistling for a yellow cab.

"Letty! Let, wait!" He caught up with her halfway down the block and slipped his hand, easily into hers.

"I'm sorry I ruined your business meeting. I'm way too hot tempered for my own good sometimes."

"You didn't ruin anything. They needed to hear everything you were saying. Hell, so did I." He squeezed her hand and steered her back towards the valet booth. "Besides, he'll probably be apologizing to me for months to come. Especially if he thinks he offended you."

"Good. Self-righteous prick." Letty huffed. Owen laughed.

"I love that you speak your mind." His car pulled up to the curb and a red-jacketed valet exited. Owen slipped the man a fifty for the rushed service and rounded the car with his date, opening and closing the door for Letty.

"Where to?"

"Honestly, I just want to be at home right now. I've got an early morning practice tomorrow."

"Your wish is my command."

Letty was grateful that he didn't request to stay the night with her. She just wanted to take a hot shower and fall into her bed. So, he'd kissed her in the lobby of her building and bid her a goodnight with a promise of seeing her the next night at the game.

Back in her condo, Letty sat on her bed and pulled her phone from her clutch and hit the home button, the screen immediately illuminated. There were a few texts from her brother and a few other acquaintances, but there was one that was sent not long after Owen had picked her up.

_**New iMessage: Dom Toretto – 7:17PM**_

_Family dinner at Cha Cha Cha at 9. Offer still stands. –D_

Letty grinned, suddenly hit with a second wind. She looked at the clock and saw it was only just nearing ten. They were probably still at the restaurant. If she dressed quickly, she could make it.

Slipping out of her dress and heels, the brunette decided that her bath and bed could wait.

* * *

_**Up Next: Family dinner.**_


	11. Shakti

_A/N: Surprisingly, I only received ONE racist anonymous (read: cowardly) review about the last chapter. First, I'm only one quarter Black, I'm also Sioux Native American, Dominican and (we most recently discovered) Inuit. But, thanks for racially profiling me. You're the real MVP for that. _

_Second, thank you to everyone for the support and continuous reviews. I love and appreciate each and every one of you!_

* * *

_**Chapter 11: Shakti**_

_Cha Cha Cha, Echo Park, 10:18PM_

"There she is."

All it took was those three words and a smile, and Dom had somehow made her feel like she was the only woman in the world; made her feel as if he had been waiting for her his entire life.

"Is there room for one more?"

"There's always room for family." Tony spoke up. He tapped Jesse and pointed to a spare chair at an empty table behind theirs. Jesse retrieved the chair and placed it between himself and Leon. Before sitting back down, he pulled Letty into a hug.

"Hey, boyfriend." Letty jokingly stated. She looked directly at Dom when she said it, but wrapped her arms around Leon and kissed his cheek. Leon's eyes bulged as he looked at his traitorous best friend. Dom's jaw muscle clenched.

"Glad you could make it, Let."

"You must be Letty."

It was then that Letty noticed the glowing brunette sitting beside Anthony Toretto. Even in her own seat, she was snuggled against his side, his arm around her and resting on the back of her chair.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Toretto."

"Sol, please, or Mari; whichever you prefer."

Letty smiled in acknowledgment and turned to look at Dom who was sitting back in his chair, arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes shooting daggers at her. She gave him a playful wink, before leaning over and nudging Jesse with her shoulder.

"How's tricks, kid?"

Jesse shrugged. "Alright, I guess."

"Letty, we were just about getting dessert. What do you want?" Sol wondered.

"Oh, gosh, no, I'm stuffed. I just came from a disastrous dinner, but thank you for the offer."

"What happened at your dinner?" Leon asked.

"Oh, I just don't have a brain-to-mouth filter sometimes." Letty exhaled her words with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Especially when it comes to political and racial issues."

"Well, if it's important to you, it's important, period. Never be afraid to speak your mind." Tony advised.

"That's one thing Letty is never afraid to do," interjected Dom. Letty looked at him over the glass of water she took from Jesse, sipping it.

Sol looked between her son and Letty, trying to get a sense of what was happening between them. They seemed compatible, but she knew her husband's policy about work romances. "So, what is it that you do besides work at the garage, Letty? If you don't mind my asking."

"I'm on the LA Lady Lancers dance team." Letty admitted.

"Oh, with Elena?" She looked at her son again, who nodded his answer. "That must be fun."

"It's torture, but I get through it."

"Are you two good friends?"

Letty snorted.

"Put it this way, Mama T, if Elena was on fire, Letty wouldn't spit on her." Leon answered for Letty. The entire table laughed, except for Dom.

It was strange how comfortable Letty felt around these people; more comfortable than with her own family, it seemed. Her biological brother, excluded. She felt like she'd known them her entire life. The conversation around her flowed easily. It seemed as if not even five minutes could go by without a round of laughter floating from their table.

"Are you single, Letty?"

"As a dollar bill and I'm not looking for change." Letty grinned.

Sol smiled. "No settling down in your future?"

"Mari, stop interrogating the girl." Tony scolded his nosy wife, gently.

"It's okay, I don't mind," replied Letty. "Not in the near future, no, but I'd eventually like to settle down. Have a brat."

"You hear that, Dom. She wants kids. Unlike that girl."

"Mom!" Dom admonished.

"So," Sol changed the subject, quickly, "what's in your near future plans?"

"Uh," breathed Letty, "an away game next week."

"Oh, yeah? Where to?" Jesse asked.

"Atlanta."

"That'll be fun." Leon chipped in.

"Yeah, I'm excited. I've never been."

A while later, Tony peered around and saw that they were the only ones left in the restaurant. This was the norm when it came to their little family. They were always the last to leave during family dinner nights. The staff didn't seem to mind; the family always tipped extremely well and never gave them any trouble.

"I think it's time we got lost." Tony mentioned, pulling a leather wallet from his jeans pocket. The other men followed suit, each throwing down money until the entire bill and their waiters' tips were covered.

"Dom, follow Letty home. Make sure she gets there safely." Sol told her son.

"He doesn't have to that." Letty replied, standing. The group started towards the exit and Letty looped her arm around Jesse's neck.

"Nonsense, it's what gentlemen are supposed to do."

"Mama T doesn't take no for an answer, so you mind as well just go with it." Leon murmured to Letty.

"Yes, ma'am," relented Letty.

* * *

_Letty's condo, 11:22PM_

The brunette pulled her keys from the starter and blew out a breath, puffing up her cheeks. She got out of her vehicle, walking to Dom's, which he'd double-parked in front of her building. He rolled down the window of the passenger side and she leaned in, one forearm resting on the sill.

"Thanks for following me home, creeper. I appreciate it."

Dom laughed. "You're welcome. I'm glad you made it to dinner."

"Me too. I had a nice time."

"Oh, I'm sorry but we do not accept the word 'nice'. Please select another word from your vocabulary and try again." Dom replied as if he were an automated machine.

That made Letty snicker. "Fine, I had a fantastic time. Phenomenal. Fabulous. Do any of those work for you?"

"They all do quite… **_nicely_**," emphasized Dom.

Letty shook her head in disbelief. "Will you be at our evening practice tomorrow?"

"Will you be looking for me at practice tomorrow?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, Letty tilted her head. "It'd be nice to see another friendly face."

"Then I'll be there." Dom figured he might as well mention the conversation he'd had with Elena, since he and Letty were friends now. "I'll also be in Atlanta next week for the away game."

Her expression was priceless. "What?"

"Yeah. Vince, too. He'll be back from vacation just in time."

"But you didn't say anything at dinner."

"Why would I? So my mom could mention that Atlanta would be a great place to raise our kids? Did you not see her trying to set us up tonight? She's in love with you."

Letty smirked, using her palm to mock fluffing her hair. "Well, what's not to love?"

"I don't know, Letty."

The brunette didn't know how to take that response, so she figured she was better off bowing out of the conversation gracefully.

"Well, thanks again, Dom. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

* * *

**_Up Next: More Owen. More Dom. More Elena..._**


	12. Nadi

**_Chapter 12: Nadi_**

_Thursday, Staples Center, 7:57PM_

"Great practice, ladies! Letty work on your foot work during the new two-step salsa addition!" Coach Riley called out. Elena snickered. "Elena, work on the hips during that part as well."

Somewhere in the back row, someone gave a dramatic, "_Ha_!"

"You ladies are dismissed."

Mia put her arm around Letty's neck and they headed towards the basketball court's sideline together to grab their water bottles and neck towels. "You little player."

"What are you talking about now, Mia?" Letty drank from her water and wiped the sweat off of her face and neck.

"Neither Owen nor Dom could take their eyes off of you tonight."

"When are you going to give up this idea that Dom and I are going to get together?"

"Don't kill the girl's fantasy, Let." Dom's voice had Mia and Letty jumping.

"I don't want her to get the wrong idea. Especially because you're a happily taken man."

"I'm a _taken_ man, yes." He emphasized. "But there's nothing wrong with a little fantasy every now and then, right?"

Mia's eyes widened, understanding that he hadn't used 'happy' as an adjective to describe himself. "I'm gonna go shower and change."

"You do that," Letty told her teammate. Giving her attention to Dom, Letty crossed her arms. "How was the shop today?"

"Boring." He replied, just barely able to refrain from voicing how upset he was that she hadn't been on the schedule.

"I wish I was there instead of… being waxed, plucked, fluffed, fried, dipped and dyed."

"I wish you were there too."

"Dom-."

"Dominic!" Elena's demanding and shrill voice echoed through the empty gym. "I'll meet you at the car."

"I should go."

"Yeah, you should. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"I'll see you there." Dom gave Letty one last look before he crossed the buffed hardwood floors to the gym's exit where Elena was waiting.

The brunette took a deep breath and shook her head. Glancing to her right, she watched as Owen still sat in a court-side seat, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. He was staring intently at Letty, a look she knew all too well. Finally, he stood and swaggered his way over to her, smirking.

"What's that look for?"

"I've finally put all the puzzle pieces together." He stated, cryptically.

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh, yes. Now I see why your… _friend_ wasn't too happy to meet me at the garage." He paused. "He's irrevocably in love with you."

Letty, who had been drinking from her water bottle again, nearly choked as the liquid went down the wrong pipe. Owen chuckled and patted her back.

"Are you alright?"

"What the fuck? Why would you say something like that?"

"You, Leticia Ortiz, are blind as a bat when it comes to how other people feel about you."

Letty looked up at Owen, hoping desperately that he wasn't talking about himself as well as Dom. She wasn't ready for a relationship with either one of them. With Owen, it was that they came from two different worlds, one of which was about fifty-four-hundred miles away. And when it came to Dom, well, as long as he was with Elena, that ship would never sail.

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

Owen leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "You smell."

She gasped, theatrically. "I'll have you know, _good sir,_ this is what hard work smells like."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Letty stepped from the shower in the locker room and squeezed the ends of her wet hair. She turned the corner to the row where her locker was, only to see Elena leaning against it.

"I don't swing that way." Letty sassed.

"Believe me if I did, you'd have to be the last person in the world and all of the batteries stopped working."

Letty feigned hurt, placing a hand over her heart, before rolling her eyes. "Move."

Despite being irritated with Letty, Elena pushed off of Letty's locker, allowing her access. "We should probably get one thing straight here."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Letty grabbed a hair-tie and pinned her damp locks up into a bun.

"You need to keep your greasy palms off of Dom. He is mine."

Letty laughed, rubbing on lotion. "What are we in junior high?"

"It won't come down to pulling hair and cat fighting. It'll be much worse than that. I can have your ass thrown off this team quicker than you can say 'whore'."

"Is that so?" Letty wasn't in the game of throwing around big names and reminding people that her mother owned part of the team. If anyone would get kicked off, it would be Elena. But, she allowed Elena her little delusions of grandeur.

"It is. So, what you need to do is keep it professional at work, and when I'm around, I don't want you talking to, looking at or touching him. Do I make myself clear?"

Slipping a shirt over her head, Letty shifted so she was face to face with Elena. "You know what you should be focused on is why you feel so threatened by me. If you really didn't think much of me, you wouldn't be too concerned about Dom and me."

Elena's eyelids fluttered. Oh, that was definitely a tell.

"Oh, I see. Has your man been a little distant lately? Pulling away? Maybe you should ask yourself why. If you weren't such a cunt and stopped treating him like he was your slave instead of your lover, this wouldn't be happening."

"And what exactly is happening?"

"Well, that really has nothing to do with me. Perhaps you're just not what Dom wants anymore. Maybe he got a taste of a Lady Lancer and that was all he wanted. A taste."

Letty knew she was being vindictive, and she was pissed at herself for stooping down to Elena's level, but she had had enough of being treated like she was doing something wrong. All she wanted was to enjoy her job, and live her life, but it was clear that Elena wasn't going to let her unless Letty took her down a peg or two.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get dressed. Owen's waiting for me."

* * *

_Letty's condo, 9:17PM_

Owen lie on Letty's memory-foam mattress, the brunette straddling his waist, her hands massaging his chest.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

She gave a small noise of disapproval.

"What? Will you miss me?" He took her hands in his and placed them against his mouth, kissing each of them.

The last thing Letty wanted to do was admit that she would, in fact, miss him. He was a complete gentleman to her; respected her opinions, opened doors, pushed in chairs. And, good god, could be make her come like a freight train. But she still wasn't ready to be with him. She didn't want this to become some world wind romance where he swept her off her feet, only to return to London. Long distance relationships were not for her. And if she was completely honest, she didn't want Owen to wiggle his way into her heart, because she was already focused on keeping Dominic fucking Toretto out of it.

Instead of responding, Letty leaned down and kissed him, slipping her tongue inside. Just as he was getting into the kiss, she pulled away and kissed her way down his neck. She felt his manhood stirring and ground against it.

"Oh, I get it. You'll miss other parts of me more than anything." He murmured, too turned on to care that she was trying to distract him with her wiles.

"Shut up and take your clothes off," she whispered into the next kiss.

_**Up Next: ATL.**_


	13. Bodhisattva

_**Chapter 13: **__**Bodhisattva**_

Letty would never look at an airport bathroom the same way again. Just a week ago, Owen had her in the very same bathroom she was in now. Only seven days ago, he'd had her hoisted onto the sink counter, fucking her within an inch of her life. It was when he whispered in her ear that he knew she'd miss him filling her completely that she exploded around him to the sound of someone banging on the locked door, demanding entry.

Now, she stood in front of the counter, smirking at her reflection as she reapplied a little mascara to her lashes. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Letty had promised Tony that she would finish the car she was working on before she left for Atlanta. Even though she'd kept her promise, it had taken her until nearly midnight. But it was a good excuse to stay in the shop a bit longer with Dom, who remained in the office doing paperwork until she called it a night.

Mia glanced over at Letty and grinned. "Had a nice going away dinner with your London lover?"

"More like amazing going away dinner, midnight snack, and then breakfast."

Mia looked impressed. "Nice." Reapplying gloss, she continued, "Elena kept us at the gym all night, practicing."

"I wanted to wring her perfect little neck," commented Rosa from a stall. Letty chuckled.

"She is your best friend." Confused, Letty stopped smoothing her ponytail back while asking, "Why is she your best friend again?"

"She's… well, she can be… her personality is-." Rosa tried.

"I'll wait."

"She's not all bad, Let." Mia defended Elena. She was always the peacekeeper. "She can have her good moments."

"Yeah, what Mia said."

Letty simply shrugged. "She's always been a cunt to me, so I've never got to see any of her good moments."

"That's because she knows you and Dominic are in _looove_."

"Here we go again." Letty rolled her eyes and picked up the Helmut Lang carry-on; a gift from her materialistic mother. "There is-."

"Nothing going between me and Dom. You're "just friends". We know." Rosa flushed the toilet and left the stall, smirking at Letty.

"Thank you."

"No, what she means is we know you are living in a fantasy world. If that's where you want to live, though, we support you." Mia blew a kiss at Letty and grabbed her own bag. Rosa finished washing her hands and dried them on the rough paper towels before taking her bag from Mia.

"I'll take what I can get." Letty laughed, pushing the door open with her hip.

* * *

_Atlanta, Madarin Oriental Hotel, 7:42PM_

Immediately off of their flight, the girls were piled into four black SUVs and taken to their hotel. They got an hour of down time, before they were back in the cars and being shuttled to practice at the famous Philips Arena. Three hours of practice, followed by an extremely late, and very quick lunch/dinner combination, they were whisked back to the hotel to shower and get ready for their performance.

"Ow, Mia! Damn!"

"Well, then hold still. I only have two more curls left."

Letty huffed and sat her cell down, having lost her game because of Mia pushing her head to the side. "Fine."

"I like doing your hair. It's healthier than most of the girls on the team."

"Thanks, I think."

"Total compliment. I swear. You have baby doll hair."

Letty shook her head at the younger brunette. "Thanks."

Mia's phone chimed. She let the ceramics out of Letty's hair and watched as the flipped curl bounced perfectly. She leaned over to see the text message. "Yay." She muttered, sarcastically.

"What?"

"Apparently, Dom is staying in Elena and my room." She rolled her eyes. "Mind if I stay here tonight? I can take the couch."

"Of course. I don't mind sharing a bed, though."

Allowing the last curl to fall perfectly in place, Mia looked at Letty in enormous vanity mirror, smiling. "Thanks!"

"Any time. Now, let's go." Letty checked her phone for the time. "We've got ten minutes to squeeze our asses into these shorts before the cars arrive."

At that moment, Rosa ran into the room in a rush, her large rollers still in her hair. She'd gotten a run in her sheer stockings and had to run to the nearest shopping plaza to find the right pair.

"You made it." Letty said.

"With seven minutes to spare."

"Fuck my life." She slipped out of her sweatpants and yanked the stockings out of the package, putting them on as carefully and quickly as she could. Mia and Letty dressed alongside her. While Rosa was fixing her breasts in the uniform boustier, Mia removed the curlers from her hair, fluffing it to perfection, as Letty slid nude lipstick across Rosa's lips.

Two minutes later, they took quick selfies to post on their own personal social media pages, as well as for the team pages. And then out the door, they went.

* * *

_12:30PM_

"Oh god. I thought I'd never see a bed again in my life." Rosa dramatically groaned as she belly-flopped on to the plush comforter. She writhed around, wiggling her behind.

"Should we leave you two alone?" Letty teased. Rosa gave a grunt in response, almost too tired to respond.

Letty dug through her bag, pulling out miscellaneous things, before she huffed, annoyed.

"What's wrong, Let?"

"I can't find my makeup remover."

"Oh, I have some." Mia's perkiness quickly deflated before she realized, "It's in my bag. In the room with Elena and Dom."

"I'll walk with you to get it. Just let me find my," Letty pushed and slid at the makeup, towels, rollers and such before she discovered what she was looking for, "key card!" She held it up victoriously.

"Okay!"

"Let's go." She linked her arm with Mia's. "We'll be back, Ro!"

Another sleepy groan from Rosa came before they left the room. Down the corridor and to the right. Mia opened her clutch handbag only to realize that she couldn't find the room key.

"Shit."

"Don't tell me you left the key card in our room?"

"No, I think I might have lost it. This was the only place I had it."

"Mia!"

"I'm sorry! I don't know what happened. But I have to get in there, all of my stuff is in there."

"Well, we'll just go get another one from the concierge."

"But it's already late, and besides someone's there. The TV is on." Mia said, her ear against the door.

Rolling her eyes, Letty knocked, hard. When no answer came, she knocked again, louder this time. They listened for footsteps. A few moments later, the door swung open, and a half-naked Dom Toretto stood at the door. A towel hung low on his waist and his upper body and legs were glistening with water.

Letty's mouth dropped open.

"Hey," he smiled. "Were you knocking long? I just got out of the shower."

"N-no. W-we-." Letty was at a loss for words. Her mouth was suddenly too dry.

"We just got here." Mia answered for them, smirking at her speechless friend. "I just came to get my stuff. Gonna stay with Rosa and Letty tonight." She pushed past Dom and pulled Letty into the room with her. Once they were in the room, she let go of Letty's wrist and walked to the bed closest to the window, to pack her belongings.

"I don't want you to feel like you can't stay here, Mia. This is your room."

"It's fine. Letty's sharing her bed."

Dom turned to look at Letty who was trying to make herself as small as possible as she stood against the wall beside the door frame. He raised an eyebrow at her fidgeting with her blue hot pants. She suddenly felt almost naked in the uniform.

Mia snapped her fingers as if she remembered something. "Makeup remover." The younger brunette headed into the bathroom, out of view.

"That true, Let?" He flirted, crossing his arms over his chest. "You in a sharing mood tonight?"

Finally gaining her voice and confidence back, Letty mimicked his stance. "That's for me to know, and you to never find out."

Taking two steps forward, he closed the small distance between them. "Never? That's a long time."

When he got too close, Letty held a hand up, only for it to hit the brick wall that was Dom's chest. He smiled as if that's what he'd wanted her to do all along. As if she'd played right into his game. Eyes never leaving hers, Dom wrapped his fingers around her wrist and slowly guided her hand across his chest then down his rock hard abdominal muscles. The lower their hands went, the weaker Letty's knees got.

Just as the tips of her fingers reached the loose hung towel, he dropped Letty's hand against her side, murmuring, "Hands to yourself."

Clearing her throat, Mia announced her arrival back into the room. Letty's head shot into her direction, while Dom never stopped looking at Letty.

"Ready?" Letty chirped, her voice a pitch higher than it normally was.

"Yep." Crossing the room to where the pair stood by the door, Mia patted Dom's shoulder, smirking. "Night, Dom."

Letty opened the door and practically ran out of the room, Mia trailing aways back.

Back in she and Rosa's room, Letty locked the door behind Mia.

"Just friends, huh?" Mia inquired.

"Shut up." Letty replied.


	14. Niyama

_A/N: I'm a total yogi, so if you guys haven't caught on by now, most of the chapter titles are sanskrit and they all mean something that have to do with the chapter._

* * *

_**Chapter 14: Niyama**_

_Saturday, Reign, Atlanta 11:56PM_

The problem wasn't that Letty wanted to be a party pooper. She could hang with the best of them when she wanted to. Tonight, however, was their second and final night in Atlanta and she had wanted to spend it at the health spa that their hotel offered. Her entire body ached with exhaustion and she just wanted to relax. Mia had other plans for her. That's how she ended up in a second-floor VIP section of one of the hottest clubs in Atlanta.

Leaning over the balcony, she overlooked the dance floor where most of her teammates were shaking their asses and grinding on some poor boys who were sure to unload in their pants before the night was through.

"You don't look like you're having a good time." Dominic's voice was low in her ear, but loud enough that he could be heard over the thumping bass.

She shrugged, noncommittally. "I'm hard to please, and you'll do well to remember that."

Dom grinned. "I'll file that away from future references."

She looked over his shoulder and then back at his face. "Where's your keeper? I mean, girlfriend."

"Cute." He looked over the balcony and then used the hand that held his drink to point. "She's there. With Ramsey."

Following his hand, Letty searched for a few seconds before spotting Ramsey and Elena demonstrating some of the latest dance moves. Reaching out, she took the drink from his hand.

"What are you drinking? Vodka?"

"Tonic water." He watched, mesmerized while the brunette sipped from his straw. "If anyone asks, tell them it's the strongest drink you've ever had."

Letty smiled and handed the sweet water back to him with a wink. She turned away from the balcony, and together, they crossed the few feet to the black couches.

"What would you rather be doing?" Dom inquired.

"Getting a massage."

He didn't respond, just smirked.

"What?"

"My mother always says 'if you don't have anything appropriate to say…'. You know the rest."

Letty just shook her head. "I'll give it to you: you are very persistent."

"I just go for what I want." He gave a casual lift and drop of his shoulder..

"Seems to me that you want Elena."

"That's debatable."

"And yet here you are in Atlanta for her."

Drinking from his tonic water, Dominic took a moment to decide how he should word his next sentiment. "_Was_ it for her?"

_Was it?_, Letty wondered, Or was it so he could see her outside of the garage?

"You tell me." Because in all honesty, she was curious now.

"I have already."

Suddenly uncomfortable talking about Elena like this, Letty pulled her wild curls to one shoulder and sighed. He said such sweet things, but she knew he wasn't ready for a woman like herself; a woman who would call him on his bullshit. For now, while he was confused, Dom seemed okay in his superficial relationship. "I'll know you're ready when I see it."

"What will you see?"

Thinking about her response carefully, Letty took his drink from him once more, sipping it. "I'll see you. Only you."

Dominic tried to comprehend what she meant. He gazed her at for awhile; just taking in her profile as she watched the flashing lights and the dancing crowd.

Little did he know, his girlfriend was watching him from platformed bar.

* * *

_DT's Auto Garage, Los Angeles, Monday, 3:02PM_

"What's interesting about this one is that once they hit about eighty or ninety, it'll cause spool up and-," Tony made a whirling noise, "it'll twist itself up. So, we have to be careful when it comes to these older models. Make sense?"

"Yeah, actually. It makes a lot of sense. What size should I order from the parts shop?"

"Go with the six by six. It'll last longer and it's thinner so it won't spool up as quickly."

Letty nodded and headed into the office to use the phone. Dominic sat at the computer, focused intently on the screen.

"Hey, are you putting in an order?"

He turned to see her, and smiled. "Yeah, if this computer would do what I tell it to do."

"It does." She teased, walking further into the office until she was leaning over him. "Maybe you're just telling it to do the wrong things."

"Well then, Steve Jobs, you have at it."

Rolling her eyes, Letty tilted down and put her hands over either of his shoulders, typing for him. "What else do you need?"

He tapped the list next to him, enjoying the feeling of her silky skin brushing against his from time to time, as she filled the order. Her face was so close to his that all it would take to kiss her was for her to turn her head slightly to the right.

"And I need," she made noise with her mouth as she browsed the site, "this! Now checkout and confirm order." She muttered to herself as she typed in the company's credit card number that was taped below the keyboard. "And done."

She smiled triumphant and a bit smug. "You're welcome."

"Shut up." He teased.

"Don't be mad because I'm more technologically efficient than you."

He simply grinned and tugged gently on the end of her ponytail.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to pull a girl's hair?"

"Really? I heard a lot of women like that."

Letty feigned shock. "Let's ask your mother if she likes it."

It was Dom's turn to drop his jaw dramatically. "I don't know what you're implying but my mother is a virgin."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, big guy." She stood to her full height, and the pair immediately missed their close proximity. Though Letty would never admit that.

It was then that Anthony poked his head into the office. "Letty, did you get that part ordered?"

"Yup, Dom was putting in an order so I just added it to his list."

"Great. Then we should get it within the next couple of days." He wiped hands on a rag. "Feel free to take off when you're ready. There's really nothing else to do until we get that part."

"Okay, great. Thanks, Tony."

The elder Toretto nodded and headed back out of the office.

"Look at you being Daddy's favorite."

"Don't be jealous." She teased. "All dads love me."

"Ah, that's right, you're a daddy's girl."

"And don't you forget it."

The two shared a quiet moment, neither wanting to leave the other's presence. It was getting a bit ridiculous.

"What are your plans for tonight?"

"I've got a bikram yoga class at seven. It's my _niyama_ for the day."

"Talk like me, just try." He pleaded.

Letty laughed. "Hot yoga. And _niyama_ is sort of like a positive activity that promotes healthy living for enlightenment." She tilted her head. "Sort of like something that clears your mind and allows more positive energy to flow."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're much deeper than I've been giving you credit for?"

"I get that a lot. It's the pretty face. That's all most people initially see."

"That's not what I initially saw."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. At first I thought you were one of those annoying housewives who thought she knew it all."

"And now?"

"Now, I'd like to go to bikram yoga with you."

She chuckled at that. Not believing him to be serious.

"I'm serious. Where is it?"

"Oh, this'll be good. I'll text you my address. Be there by six-thirty."

"I will be."

This she could do; silly, friendly adventures with Dom. Perhaps yoga would do him a bit of good. Maybe it would clear his mind and open him up to a new stage of enlightenment: one where he could see what Letty meant when she said she would know that he was ready once she saw only him.

That and she wanted to see his cute, little ass during downward dog!

* * *

_Up next: Yoga, family dinner and jealousy rears its ugly head._


	15. Dosha

_A/N: I feel like I haven't written Letty into some badassery since SLHIT, so... *shrugs* enjoy._

* * *

_**Chapter 15: Dosha**_

_7:56PM_

"And breathe in, three, four, five. And release it, six, seven, eight." Their soft-spoken instructor, Sophie, counted. The entire class released a collective breath and lowered their arms in count with her. "And that brings us back down into _tuladandasana_, or balancing stick." She demonstrated the posture and the fifteen adults in the class followed slowly until they were breathing in and out for another eight count.

Letty couldn't help it. She shot a furtive glance at Dom, to see him pulling a perfect balancing stick. She squinted her eyes but turned back towards Sophie who was transitioning into a triangle pose. In a slowly maneuvered side lunge, Sophie turned her upper body until her arms were in a perfect six o'clock position.

In a one-hundred-and-five-degree yoga studio, Dom was actually doing better than most of the other self-proclaimed yogis in the class. Although when Sophie moved into a tree pose, Dominic was well out of his element. Letty bit her bottom lip in an attempt not to laugh at his unsteadiness.

"Oh, shut up." He whispered.

Luckily the pair had chosen a spot in the back row and didn't catch any flack for talking in class.

"Put your weight in your thighs and the front of your foot." She whispered back. Dom's tongue came out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on doing what Letty said. The brunette resisted the urge to burst out in laughter. Dom's eyebrows furrowed and he was unsteady for a few more moments before he was a still as a statue in his tree position. Just in time for Sophie to transition back into triangle pose.

In a side lunge to the opposite side this time, Letty was able to gaze at Dominic much longer this time. His hard body glistened with sweat, making his naturally tanned skin look even more beautiful. Shaking her head and trying to focus on her breathing, Letty realized that her heart was beating harder than it should have been.

"And into a cool-down, _savasana_, also called dead body pose." Sophie soothed. They were directed onto their yoga mats, arms at their sides and fingers flat. "Allow your body to become completely relaxed. Close your eyes and allow your head to loll gently to the left." The class followed the calming instructions. "And then back to the center... to the right...".

Letty felt a presence wash over her and she opened her eyes to see Dominic staring at her relaxed, sweaty face. His eyes were filled with what looked and felt like adoration. For the entire count of sixteen, Dom stared into Letty's eyes, and she stared right back. Until they were interrupted by Sophie's next soft command.

"...and back to the center for a complete _savasana_."

They were directed upwards into onto their knees. "Sit back on your heels and breathe in as you bend forward in a half-tortoise. Stretch your back as far as you can and breathe out as you slowly lift back up." Sophie repeated this three more times before they were instructed to slowly stand to their feet, one hand closed in a gentle fist while the other rested atop it.

"And we will finish with _prayanama_, or standing deep breathing." Sophie announced. "During this week, remind yourself not to move the way fear makes you move. Move the way love makes you move. Move the way joy makes you move. _Namaste_."

The class gave a collected "Namaste" because to Sophie and began to roll up their yoga mats and started towards the exit.

"You did good." Letty grinned, bumping her shoulder against Dom's arm. "I'm proud of you."

"Didn't think I could do it, did you?"

"Not for a second." She admitted through a laugh.

"There are two things you should know about me, Letty."

"What's that?"

"One: I can do anything I put my mind to."

"And two?"

"Two: I'm hungry as hell now." He held open the glass door that led to the exit of the studio for her to exit first..

Letty let out a laugh as he followed behind her. "I think I need a shower."

"Dinner in an hour?" He inquired. "My treat?"

"Not tonight. I have to be at the gym early tomorrow. But when we do go for dinner, we'll go Dutch. Like _friends_ do." Dom followed her to her car, waiting until she unlocked it.

"Uh," he grabbed his chest through his t-shirt, "you're killing me with the 'f' word."

Tossing her yoga mat into the passenger seat, Letty leaned against her car and looked at him as if trying to understand a complex math problem.

"What?"

"There is so much I want to share with you, but in due time. Friends for now because I want to meet the real you. I've only gotten glimpses in the past."

Dom was at a loss for words. There were the moments like this when Letty said exactly what she was thinking and there was no trying to understand what she meant. He didn't have to decipher anything; she was laying it out for him to pick up.

"Understood. See you Wednesday for family dinner?"

She nodded, and he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"See you then." He replied.

Neither saw the paparazzo snapping various shots of the scene.

* * *

_Tuesday, 7:03AM_

"Fuck!" Letty groaned as she tried to ignore her phone's buzzing for the umpteenth time that morning. She didn't have to be to the gym until nine and she planned on sleeping in for as long as she could. Someone, however, was not allowing that to happen. Head still under her duvet, Letty's hand blinding reached out to her bedside table, patting around until her fingers grasped onto her smartphone. She brought it back under the covers with her and answered with her eyes still closed.

"What!" She growled.

"Just friends, huh? You sneaky little skank. How could you not tell me?"

"Mia?"

"Uh, duh!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You haven't seen today's _US Weekly_?"

"You know I don't read that bullshit. What are they saying now? J. Lo's ass is fake?"

"Uh no, but there's a nice little snippet of you and Dom outside of Xen Yoga Studio, and as the caption says, you two look awfully... cozy."

That caught Letty's attention mid-yawn. She sat up, her dark hair falling wildly into her face. "The fuck?"

"Yeah!" Mia told her, saucily.

"Mia, those magazines are tabloids. There is seriously nothing going on with Dom and me. I would tell you. We went to Bikram and then he walked me to my car. That's it."

"And how are you going to explain the kiss?"

"What kiss?"

"In the magazine, Letty! You two are kissing!"

"As in the kiss on the cheek that he gave me?"

"That's not what it looks like."

"Can you really tell what it looks like or is there a shadow?"

"Well, there's a shadow, but-."

"But nothing. Take the accusatory tone down a notch or two and call me back." Letty hung up her phone and rolled her shoulders to wake the muscles up.

"Fuck!" She shouted aloud. Any other day of the week she was just "spotted" picking up her dry-cleaning. Or Mia was "tracked down" in a nightclub with Elena. And there were the days when Elena was "found hiding" out a spa for the day. The Lady Lancers were right up there with the Maverick dancers and Heat dancers. People took an interest in their lives, but it was usually some creepy overweight guy who fantasized about being with them for the night, or younger girls who were aspiring dancers.

This was on a whole different level of annoying. Letty pulled herself out of the bed and headed for her shower. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

_10:12AM_

"Ladies! Good workout, yeah?" Coach Riley asked, enthusiastically. A few sporadic responses were tossed out, none that were as perky as she was in that moment.

Letty stood off to the side, ready to head to the locker room so she could shower again. When she'd come into the Staples Center gym for their team workout, Mia had contritely apologized and wrapped the shorter Latina up into a bear hug. Rosa had given her a nudge and a wink. The other girls, however, didn't seem to be too happy with her. Elena's influence, no doubt.

"So, next game during half time, we'll be celebrating our owner's birthday with... drum roll please," no one gave a drum roll, "seventies night!"

A few girls actually perked up upon hearing that.

"The routine will be to 'Pour Some Sugar On Me', choreographed by Mia and myself."

A round of applause went around the room for Mia's choreography. She always kept it fun and hip.

"Practice tonight at five and the game is on Thursday. Now, go hit the showers."

Relieved, the women headed to the changing room. Letty had just gotten to the row where her locker was when someone pushed past her, effectively knocking her shoulder into the metal corner.

"Fuck. You could say excuse me."

Elena whipped around. "What?"

"You heard me."

"It's you who should be excused." The Brazilian dancer stepped towards Letty, holding her ground.

"Is that so?"

"it is? Although, I'm not sure there's really an excuse for home-wrecking whores."

"You would know, wouldn't you?"

Elena wasn't sure what came over her, but there was no way she could've known how royally she fucked up by raising her hand to Letty and slapping the half-Puerto Rican across the face. She didn't even have the opportunity to blink before Letty's fist was flying towards her face, landing with an audible crack from her nose.

Ignoring her numbing nose, Elena threw a punch that Letty ducked and found herself slammed against a locker before being pushed to the floor.

"Letty, she's had enough! Come on, stop!"

"Let, get off of her."

"Come on, Letty! You're going to get kicked off of the team."

Letty heard none of this. Elena struggled to flip them over, only to result in the two of them battling for dominance. Letty's back hit the side of the a wooden bench and she reeled from the sheer pain of it. Elena took the opportunity to slap her across the face once more and climb on top of her.

"Knock it off! Break it up, right now!" Coach Riley's voice echoed off of the locker room walls. She got into the middle of them, pulling Elena off of Letty. "What the hell is this about?"

"Ask that crazy bitch! She hit me for no reason." Letty shouted standing from the floor, wiping the blood from the cut on the side of her lip.

Elena spat blood that was leaking from her nose. "You know exactly what happened. Maybe you won't fuck someone else's boyfriend after this."

Letty had had enough of people accusing her of being with someone that she wasn't with. She launched towards Elena again, but Mia stepped in front of her, hands on Letty's shoulder.

"She's had enough, Let. Don't get yourself into any more trouble. Let it go."

"You two, in my office, now."

"Fuck that. I don't need this shit. Find yourself another girl." Letty huffed. She opened her locker, took her things and pushed past the crowd of girls that had witnessed the entire scene.

"Letty! Let-!" Coach Riley's voice carried as Letty headed down the hallway. She yanked a ball cap from her bag and shoved it low over her face in case there were any paparazzi outside the stadium as she headed through the exit and to her car.

This was certainly a story that she couldn't bear to see in a tabloid.

_**Up Next: Dom's reaction.**_


	16. Samnyasa

_A/N: Whoa. Where did the month go?_

* * *

_**Chapter 16: Samnyasa**_

_Wednesday, DT's Auto Garage, Noon_

"Yo, killa!" Vince greeted Letty when she came in for her shift the following day. She shook her head, not in the mood to joke around about the incident just yet.

"Come on, Let. I need details. What happened?" He pushed. "We saw Elena's bruised nose and cheek last night."

"She deserved it." Was all Letty said. She took off her sunglasses and sat her tea on the desk by her work station.

"How are _you_?" Jesse asked, crossing the garage to her side and sitting on her painter's stool.

She gave a shrug. "I'm alright. Just frustrated. Yesterday didn't have to end the way it did."

Lowering his voice, Jesse inquired, "Have you talked to Dom since then?"

"No." Suddenly, she remembered Dom even existed. Her worries had not been on him at all. But now.. "Oh god, Dom. Is he pissed?"

"Beyond. I don't know who he's really mad at right now. He was upset at Elena's face last night in the ER."

"The ER? Seriously? I didn't even hit her that hard."

"You know she has a flare for the dramatics."

Letty rolled her eyes. Great, this was just what she needed. Anthony had made it clear that he did not want any work drama, and she was one hundred percent positive that this counted as such.

"What time is he in today?"

"He said he was taking the day off. I think he's still at Elena's."

"Fuck." She whispered to herself. Pulling her hair out of her face and into a ponytail, Letty closed her eyes and silently repeated a peace mantra to herself.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Maybe if you come to family dinner tonight and explain what happened-."

"I doubt he'd take my word over his girlfriend's."

"You don't know that, Let."

"Besides, I don't think I'd be welcome there tonight."

"Family is always welcome."

Letty sighed. "I'll think about it, Jess."

The younger mechanic nodded and patted her on the back before returning to his own work station.

For the next six hours, Letty went through the motions of working on the cars she'd been assigned. Each time she finished one, Anthony would look it over and either approve or ask her tweak one more thing. When it came to quitting time, he pulled her to the side and tried to get to the bottom of her glum mood.

"What's going on with my girl today? You're not yourself."

"I'm always quiet when I'm busy, Mr. T."

"You still make time to put in your two cents sometimes."

Letty shrugged. "I guess I just wasn't in a talking mood today."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Elena's bruised eye and nose, would it?"

Sighing, Letty nodded.

"What happened?"

"I don't even know, Mr. T. I'm normally such a peaceful person, but she really brought out the worst in me. She swung at me first."

Crossing his broad arms, Tony leaned against a counter and listened to Letty tell the story of what happened the previous day.

"Have you talked to Dom?"

"No. Jesse asked the same thing. He said Dom is pissed right now."

"Not at you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know my son."

"So, what should I do?"

"Talk to him."

"I wouldn't even know what to say."

"The words will come to you when you see him at family dinner tonight."

"Oh, I don't think I should come tonight."

"You'll be there."

"But-."

"No buts. Avoiding your problems will only make them disappear temporarily, Letty." He watched her face for a moment, seemingly trying to gauge her reaction. "I'll see you tonight, kid."

* * *

_Cha Cha Cha, 9:45PM_

Awkward was a polite way of putting it. Dom and Letty stared at each other for the entire meal, only speaking when spoken to. The tension was thick enough that Jesse had offered to cut it with a butter knife. Sol had tried to make the two engage in pleasant conversation, but to no avail. They spoke briefly and quietly, each of their dominant personalities unseen.

"Well, I guess we should wrap things up. I think Dom and Letty need to have a talk." Anthony said as he reached for his wallet.

"Dad."

"Dominic." Though her voice was soft, the way Sol said her son's name shut him right up.

Once the tab was paid and their waitresses were tipped, the small family rose from their chairs and started towards the exit. Sol and Anthony were the first to disappear, heading down the street to Anthony's car. Vince, Leon and Jesse talked for a few moments, making plans for the weekend before, they too, took off to their seperate automobiles, leaving Dom and Letty alone.

"Where'd you park?" He asked, his tone unreadable.

"A block over."

"Let's go."

They started towards her car, each trying to figure out the right there to say. Before either of them realized it, Letty's car was before their eyes.

"Are you going to say something?" Letty asked.

"Are you?"

"I don't really know what happened."

"What? One minute you were about to change and the next you were on top of Elena, beating her to a bloody pulp?"

"A bloody p-? Are you kidding me? She swung on me first."

"That's not the story that I got."

"Of course not, because I'm always the bad guy when it comes to her."

"You two hate each other. What am I supposed to think?"

"You're supposed to wait until you've heard both sides of the story before judging me!"

Dom knew she was right, but he was still angry that the altercation happened to begin with.

"Let me ask you something: did you tell Elena that all I wanted from her was to say I fucked a Lady Lancer?"

Letty opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"That's what I thought." Dom shook his head. "You say Elena hates you for no reason, but you can be just as spiteful as she is sometimes. Don't forget that when you point a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you."

Before Letty could even find the right words to say, Dom stalked off.


	17. Mantra

_**Chapter 17: Mantra**_

_Two days later (Friday, 10:00AM)_

"You look exhausted."

Letty rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Nicolas." She opened her front door wider to permit her brother entrance before turning on her heels and walking back towards the living room. "It's nice to see you, too."

"And why aren't you dressed?"

"Uh, because I don't have anywhere to be today." She plopped back down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table, pressing play on her Netflix selection.

"Work, Letty. You have to be at work."

"Mm, well, I quit them both, so there's that."

"Wait, you quit the garage, too? Why?"

"Well, not officially, but I figure when I don't show up for a couple of days, they'll get the picture."

"That's heartless."

"Well, apparently so is Dominic Toretto."

"Ah, speaking of-."

"I don't want to speak of him."

"You're the one who brought him up, not me."

"Look, are you going to talk through this whole episode? She huffed at her older brother.

Nico put his hands up in surrender and sat on the arm of the couch and slid backwards until he was half-lying on it. He was able to remain silent for a full three minutes of Letty's show before he just had to blurt out:

"All I'm saying is the Letty I know would push his head into the pavement or mush his face in the dirt for making her feel bad."

"The Letty you know is apparently still eight years old."

"Yeah, well, at least she didn't run from her problems."

"I'm not running, Nico. I just want a couple of days to myself. Jesus." She stood from the couch and stepped around the table to start towards the kitchen. Nico jumped up and followed behind her.

"Mommy said she's called you at least fifty times."

"More like eighty-three times. She just can't have a scandal on her hands."

"I don't know, Let. I think she's really concerned about your well-being. She is your mother after all."

"She was your mother first." Letty opened the fridge and poked her head inside, pulling out the fixings for a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Stop deflecting. Will you at least text her and tell her you're okay? Or at least call Dad."

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now. You're lucky I even let you in here."

"Stop pushing people away. You always do that." Nico sat down at one of the kitchen stools, watching his sister pull out a pan and spatula.

"I just don't want anyone in my business right now."

"Don't you think it's a little late for that? A locker room full of chicks witnessed your Ronda Rousey moment with this Elena chick."

"She started it."

"And you need to finish it. Go talk to Coach and get your spot back on that team. Don't let that crazy bit-, I mean _girl_, stop you from doing what you want to do."

"I don't particularly _want_ to be on the team, anyway. It just paid the bills."

"And how, pray tell, are you going to pay the bills now that you're no longer on the squad?"

"I haven't thought about that yet. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"You're being a spoiled brat."

Letty slammed the pan onto the electric stove and whirled around on to face her brother. "Let me explain something to you, Nicolas: I don't stay somewhere where I'm not wanted. It was clear from day one that Elena didn't want me on that team. Why? I have no clue. I made it this far out of sheer will and force, but I allowed myself to step out of my character. I made myself lower for stooping to her level. For that, I'm sorry, but I am not sorry for showing Elena that she cannot bully people.

And as far as Dom... well, I barely knew him anyway. Why shed tears for someone who isn't even willing to hear my side of the story? Call me what you want, but right now I need to focus on my own mental health. I can't worry about how other people feel about me."

She turned back to the stove and pressed a button for the front burner to start warming up. The brunette didn't hear her brother get off of the stool, nor did she witness his footsteps, but moments later, he was standing beside her. Nico cut the stove off and pulled his sister into an embrace.

"I'm sorry, kid. Alright? I didn't mean it." Nico pressed his cheek against the top of her head. "I'll talk to Mom for you."

Letty was quiet, her hands hesitating before the came up and around to hug him back. A few moments later, her fingertips clung to his shirt and her shoulders shuddered as they were wracked with sobs.

All Nico could do was wrap his arms tighter around her. When she was born, he was only two years old, but he still remembered the protective feeling he'd felt when he first held her. He felt that now. He'd do anything to protect his little sister from anything. Mean girls and stupid boys included.

* * *

_Sunday, Letty's condo, 8:08PM_

"Jesus, Nico, just use your key for once." Letty huffed as she swung the front door open and turned back around not giving her brother a second glance.

"I don't have a key."

She stopped in her tracks. That definitely was not Nico. Letty knew that gravelly, baritone voice anywhere. Slowly, she moved to face her open front door. Where Dom Toretto stood.

"Dom? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

Letty debated for a moment before she relented and gave a slight nod, still surprised. His large stature stepped inside and suddenly her condo seemed so small and unkempt.

_Oh god, had she cleaned up the wine glasses from the last two days?_

"I was, uh, thinking, and I realized that you were right."

Her eyebrows shot up. "About?"

"About us. Our friendship. I should have been a real friend and waited until I'd heard both sides of the story to form my opinion."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Letty nodded her head. "Yeah, you should've."

"I just said that, Letty. I'm sorry for being an asshole. Do you accept my apology?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"On whether or not you came here to hear my side."

"I did."

Contemplating his sincerity, Letty sighed and beckoned his further into the condo with a nod of her head. He followed her into her den where she picked up a cup and plate from the table and told him to make himself comfortable while she disposed of the dishes. Dom did so, sitting on the leather couch. He took in his surroundings, genuinely surprised at how _Home &amp; Garden_-esque Letty's place seemed. Everything had it's own place and the den gave off a chic, yet warm and inviting vibe.

"Can I get you anything?" Letty shouted from the kitchen.

"Uh, beer if you have it."

Moments later, Letty reappeared with two cold Coronas. She handed one to Dom as she sat on the opposite end of the couch.

"So..."

"So..." Dom repeated, drinking from the amber liquid. "What happened exactly?"

Letty went through the motions, recounting the truth of what happened that day in the locker room.

"...and so I just walked out. I could hear Coach calling my name, but I just couldn't deal with all the bullshit and politics of the situation at the moment. I was too heated."

Dom sighed, rubbing a hand over his bald head. "Fuck, Letty."

"Yeah..." She agreed, nodding her head. "It all happened so fast."

Dom surprised her by asking, "Are you alright? I know I should have asked you that days ago."

"I'm fine. I'm a big girl. Luckily, Elena hits like a wuss."

"Letty." He sounded exasperated.

"Too soon. Sorry."

"So, it was self-defense, basically?"

"Technically, yes."

He sighed again. "I'm sorry for being a dick."

"You can't help that. That's like me apologizing for having brown eyes." She teased. Dom cracked the first smile she'd seen from him in nearly a week and a half.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make me not... I don't know... not mad at you?"

Letty shrugged. "I'm the only girl. And the baby. It's sort of a gift."

He squinted his eyes at her, playfully. "I'm sorry."

"You said that." She picked at the label of her glass beer bottle. "I'm sorry for telling Elena that you only wanted to sleep with her because she was a Lancer girl."

"I accept your apology."

A comfortable silence fell over them for a few heartbeats.

"Be honest, did you come over here because of your conscience or because Tony made you?"

"A little bit of both. Also, Jesse told me he'd quit if I didn't come talk to you."

She placed a hand to over her heart. "He said that? I love him."

"He did. You must have made a good impression on our young Jesse. He doesn't normally take too well to meeting new people."

"He's a good kid."

A few moments longer and Dominic stood up, followed by his brunette counterpart. She walked him back to the front hall and the two stood by the front door, looking anywhere but at each other.

"Look, there's something I have to tell you." Dom finally said. Letty would have been lying if she said she that hadn't made her nervous.

"Okay." She replied, hesitantly.

"I'll tell you over dinner tomorrow night."

"O-okay." That threw her for a loop. "I have a meeting with President O'Connor tomorrow at three. I'm free any time after that."

"Good. I'll pick you up at six."

"Six, it is." Letty agreed, opening the door for him.

"Goodnight, Letty."

"'Night, Dom."


	18. Devi

_A/N: Brownie points to anyone who can tell me what Letty's phone passcode stands for!_

* * *

_**Chapter 18: Devi**_

_Monday, Staples Center, 2:57PM_

She'd considered being late to her meeting with Brian O'Connor, president and majority owner of the Los Angeles Lancers. Truly considered it, but it wasn't O'Connor's fault that she had found herself in a precarious predicament. With her job security on the line, Letty had decided that the only way to play this was to be completely honest. She was sure that Elena had already had her fifteen minutes of time with him, and had no doubt spun the story in a way that made her a complete and utter victim. Letty would admit her wrongdoing, but she was not about to make herself the bad guy.

"Letty! Hi!" Mr. O'Connor's assistant greeted with a bright smile and an excited wave. "He's already expecting you. You can go right in."

"Thank you." Letty pushed down the cold silver handle to his office and entered.

"Letty, good to see you." The blonde-haired, blue-eyed company president stood up and extended his hand to shake hers.

"Hi, Mr. O'Connor."

"Brian, please. You know that. We keep it informal around here."

"Brian," acknowledged Letty. He gestured for her to sit in either of the visitor's chairs.

"So, we've have got ourselves a bit of a problem, now don't we?"

"Not really. If you don't want me to be on the team anymore, I won't be." Brian's brows rose slightly. Letty didn't mean for her statement to come out as blunt as it did, but she didn't have time to beat around the bush. Whatever was meant to be, would be.

"It's not that I don't want you on the team. I do. I love all of you girls as if you were family, but Elena has filed a formal complaint against you." He picked up a sheet of paper to the left of him and slid it across his desk. Letty leaned over to read it, but didn't pick it up. At first.

Then she read: LOS ANGELES COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT.

"Is she fucking serious?" Letty snatched the paper off of the surface and skimmed the document quickly. "This isn't a formal complaint. This is a notice of charges pressed. Simple assault! Half a dozen girls can tell you what really happened! They know I didn't hit her first."

"Be that as it may, she has a little bit of a jarred face and you... well, don't have a scratch on you."

"Because I spend my time kickboxing, I know how to defend and attack when I need to. I was defending myself for god's sake!"

"The girls who were allegedly there are seemingly taking Elena's side. I think it's best if you get yourself a lawyer."

"A lawyer? Are you serious?"

"And for the next couple of weeks, I think it's best that you don't attend any games or events hosted by the Los Angeles Lancers or Lady Lancers."

Letty gave out a wry laugh. "This is unbelievable." The brunette stood from her chair and crumpled the paper, tossing it back onto the desk. "Is that all?"

"Letty," Brian's tone went from official spokesperson to concerned friend, "look, I don't know what happened in that locker room, but I believe you. If there's anything I can do, please let me know."

"There's nothing you can do. Thanks, Brian." She shook her head and made her exit.

* * *

_Ortiz Manor, Los Angeles, 4:13PM_

Letty didn't know how she wound up at her parents' home, but she did. She traipsed through the grand foyer and into the equally as large family room. Just as she suspected, her father was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table, watching the replays of a college basketball game. She cleared her throat to alert him to her presence.

"Not now, Lana. I'm watching the game."

"It's just me, Daddy." The crackle in her voice made Joaquin crane his neck around. His brown eyes flashed when he saw her red nose and watery orbs. He muted the highlights and tossed the remote onto the table.

"Leticia, what's happened? If it's that no-good Dom Toretto, I swear on my mother's grave-."

"It's not about him, Daddy." She circled the couch and came to sit down right beside her father. He opened his arms for her and she leaned into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What's happened?"

"Mom didn't tell you, yet?"

"Tell me what?"

"That I physically fought another of the girls on the team."

"Oh, that. Yes, I know. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed until your mother said it was probably self-defense."

Letty's eyebrows furrowed and she looked up. "Mom said that?"

Joaquin laughed. "Yes. She's not the monster you think she is." Letty cocked an eyebrow at that, causing him to edit his statement. "Well, not all the time. Your mom was fun once upon a time. She got into a fight or two in her day."

"Shut up. Now, you're just trying to make me feel better. Mom fought someone once? Over what?"

"Over me." Joaquin shrugged. "Sort of the same situation you're in now."

Letty shook her head; she just couldn't see her uptight mother fighting another girl over Joaquin.

"The point is, Mom got through it, and so will you."

"How did she get through it?"

"Maybe you should ask her that."

Letty sighed and nodded, moving to get off of the couch. "Thanks, Daddy."

"Anything for you." He reached for the remote to unmute the TV. "She's in her office."

Walking through the house, Letty went through all of the possible scenarios and conversations that she could have with her mom after ignoring her for the better part of a week. Each scenario ended with them arguing and Letty storming out.

She blew out a puff of air and pushed open her mom's office door. "Hey, Ma."

Looking up from her paperwork, Lana removed her turtle-shell reading glasses and smiled. "Letty. Come in. Shut the door." She stood from her desk and moved to the leather couch and kicked off her shoes, patting the seat beside her. Letty crossed the room to sit next to her mom.

For a short while, both Letty and Lana decided what they wanted to say.

"Daddy told me you fought a girl over him."

"I'll kill him."

Letty chuckled. "What happened?"

"Well, who did you father marry?"

Letty rolled her eyes. "I mean, with the girl."

"Well, we were both suspended from school for three days and during that time, both our mothers forced us to spent eight hours a day working for Habitat for Humanity where we had to communicate."

"I'm not doing community service with Elena. You know she pressed charges against me?"

"What?!"

Letty sat up at her mother's outburst. "You didn't know?"

"Of course not. That's ridiculous."

"It's the reality of the situation right now."

Lana stood abruptly and headed for her desk. She picked up her office phone and dialed a number.

"Mom?"

Lana held up a single finger and waited for a moment. "David Park, please. Tell him it's Lana Ortiz... thank you." Letty sat on the couch, elbows on her knees and hands clasped together. "David, it's Lana. My daughter needs legal counsel... As soon as possible..." Lana placed a hand over the receiver. "Letty, what are the charges?"

"Simple assault."

"Simple assault," relayed Lana into the phone. "Mhm... yes. Honestly, David, what I can tell from the altercation that the woman was the provocateur and my daughter was defending herself... yes, of course. That's perfect... We'll see you then. Thank you. Bye."

"You'll meet with David tomorrow morning at eight-thirty."

Letty cocked an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

"It pays to have friends in high places."

"Do you know a bribable judge, by any chance?"

Lana let out a cocky laugh. "It won't get that far. You mark my words."

* * *

_Mr. Chow, Los Angeles, 6:34PM_

"Well, regardless of what happened, the truth will eventually come out. What's that saying: what's done in the dark-."

"'Comes to the light'." Letty finished for Dom.

"Exactly."

"Still, apparently Elena's face was marred beyond recognition, let everyone tell it." Letty rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't that bad. A couple of scratches, bruised cheek." Dom admitted.

Letty shook her head and sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "I don't wan to talk about this anymore. It's already causing such a headache."

Dom opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by two people standing at their table.

"Leticia Ortiz?"

Letty looked up and her heart dropped. Polished metal gleamed in her face against the candlelit table.

"Yes?"

"We'd like you to come with us."

"What for?"

"You're under arrest for simple assault."

"There has to be a mistake." Dom replied.

"Your fucking girlfriend." Letty muttered.

But it was too late, one of the officers, a female, was already pulling a set of handcuffs from the back of her service belt. "Oh come on, that's not necessary. She can walk out of here by herself." Dom protested.

Standing, Letty pulled on the Nike baseball cap she'd taken off when they were seated and tossed her cell phone onto the table before she was instructed to place her hands below her waist. The female officer cuffed Letty's hands in the front, as Dom stood from the table, watching helplessly.

"Letty, what can I do? Who do you want me to call?" He asked, near frantic.

"You have the right to remain silent." The second officer began to read Letty her Miranda rights.

"My mother. And David Park. Zero-seven-one-two."

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

Dom saw a few people take out their camera phones and start to film the spectacle. Letty lifted her cuffed hands to pull the baseball cap lower over her face to avoid yet another unwelcome picture of her in some morning tabloid as she was led out of the restaurant.


	19. Azar

_**A/N: Letty's passcode is M-Rod's birthday. (: Anyway, finals are finished for me, so expect a couple more updates from me. Sorry for the wait.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 19: Azar**_

Letty stopped pacing and turned completely to her right. "Can I help you?"

A beautiful, yet scantily-clad, Israeli girl had been staring at Letty for the better part of an hour.

"Sorry," she replied, but she didn't look apologetic at all, "but you look so familiar."

_Crap_, thought Letty, _this is the last thing I need right now_.

"Have you ever worked at The Black Cat?" The girl asked.

Letty gave a wry laugh. "Hardly." As if she'd be caught dead dancing at a strip club.

The girl's eyebrows furrowed, clearly offended at Letty's disdain for exotic dancers. "Oh, I see. You're one of those girls who turns up their noses at girls who take off their clothes for money."

Crossing her arms and resuming her pacing, Letty chose to ignore her. The second to last thing she needed was to get into a catfight in the holding cell at a Los Angeles police station. That's what had gotten her into this mess to begin with.

"For your information, I put myself through college by dancing. Some women actually enjoy the seduction of it all."

Letty shrugged a shoulder. "Thanks for informing me. You learn something new everyday."

It wasn't that Letty turned up her nose at exotic dancers, because who was she to judge? She, herself, danced for millions of people in a barely-there outfit. It was basically the same thing. Truth be told, she could care less. All she wanted to do was get out of jail and go home.

"I know where I know you from. You're a Lady Lancer."

Letty gave a half-assed smile.

"You basically do the same thing I do."

"I guess." It was apparent that this girl was not giving up.

"I tried out for them once."

Well, that certainly peaked Letty's interest. "You did?"

"Yeah, two years ago. The lead dancer didn't like me for some reason."

"Do you remember her name?"

"Uh, yeah. Eleanor. Or Elise. Or something like that."

"Elena?"

The girl snapped her fingers. "That's it! Elena."

Letty rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, she doesn't like me either. Hence, the reason I'm in this fucking place."

"Wait, what? She got you arrested?"

Letty sat on the bench across from the girl and leaned her forearms on her knees. "It's such an unbelievable story."

"Try me."

And so she did. Figuring she'd never see this girl again, Letty told her the story of the fight, only giving a few details. When Letty was done, she inquired as to why the model-esque girl was in a holding cell of LA County.

"Oh, I punched some jerkoff for grabbing my ass. Turns out he owns half of LA." The girl shrugged nonchalantly. Letty was beginning to like her.

"So, wait," the other woman changed the subject, "you were arrested for assault while out to dinner with a friend?"

"Yep."

"Where's your friend now?"

"Ortiz, your bail is posted." An officer announced.

"There he is."

"Good luck."

"Same to you." Letty stood and held out her hand for the girl to shake. "Letty."

"GiGi," she replied before rethinking it and responded, "short for Gisele."

"Nice to meet you, despite the circumstances. Sorry I was such a bitch before."

"Likewise."

Letty walked out of the holding cell and gave Gisele once last glance before she was led down a hallway, through a guard checkpoint and out towards the lobby. Dom, her parents and a man, whom she assumed was David Park, stood there waiting for her.

"Leticia." Her mother breathed in relief. Both of her parents pulled her into an embrace. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom."

"Leticia?" David started. He held his hand out for her to shake. "David Park."

"Nice to meet you." She replied, returning his handshake. "Thanks for being here."

"My pleasure. I'm always willing to help Lana."

Letty noticed the subtle clench in her father's jaw and chuckled, raising an eyebrow at her mother. It seemed like Mr. Park was a bit smitten with Lana Ortiz.

"Let's get your things." Joaquin suggested. They turned to head towards the personal effects counter, leaving Letty and Dom to drag behind.

"Took you long enough." She said, by way of thanks.

Dom chuckled. "Yeah, you're welcome."

Each stood staring at the other for a few heartbeats before Dom took his hand from his front pocket and reached for her. He pulled her close and wrapped both arms around her. Letty let her arms fall loosely around his waist.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright, considering."

Shuffling slowly in the direction her parents and David went, the pair made idle chit-chat, mostly trying to ignore the fact that they'd just retrieved Letty from a holding cell. The Latina signed for her things -her baseball cap, watch, two credit cards, keys and forty-seven dollars in cash- and they were on their way.

"Letty, come by the house so we can start preparing a defense." Lana told her.

"Okay. Dom, can you take me to the restaurant so I can pick up my car?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll meet you guys at the manor."

"We'll see you there." Joaquin kissed his daughter's cheek and they dispersed.

"Ready?"

Letty paused, and looked back at the building. "Uh, one second." She jogged back inside, emerging fifteen minutes later.

* * *

_Ortiz Manor, 9:52PM_

"Honestly, this has just gone too far. Elena is insane if she thinks the truth won't come out. She swung on me first."

"She also has a hospital bill, while you don't have a scratch on you."

"I'm so _sick _of hearing that. Look, just because I can defend myself, doesn't mean I should be persecuted for it."

"Take a deep breath, Letty." Joaquin reminded her. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, but it didn't help. Every nerve in her body was on fire.

"Elena also has three girls who are saying that she was defending herself against you."

"And they're willing to testify to that fact?" Lana inquired.

"Well, they've made witness statements, but if it turns out that they are lying there could be serious consequences for them."

"Well, why don't I just tell them that? Hopefully, it'll put the fear of God in them."

"Then you'll be looking at worse charges like witness intimidation or coercion which will change the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony."

"This is ridiculous," Lana interjected. "What about a settlement?"

"Settlements imply guilt. Letty isn't guilty of anything." Joaquin responded.

"I agree." David said. "Besides, why would we reward someone for lying."

"It's a shame this was in the locker room. Every inch of the Staples Center has cameras except those rooms."

"And they all have audio as well."

David seemed pleased with that. "No one told me that. Are there cameras just outside of the locker rooms?"

"Yes." Lana confirmed. "They face the concession stands."

"Well, I can subpoena the arena to hand over the tapes. There could be a conversation on tape between Elena and the witnesses before they entered the room. It's a long shot, but," he spread either of his hands, palms-up, "it's a shot nonetheless."

"Agreed." Joaquin added.

"So, are we all in accordance that we will continue with the idea of self-defense?"

"Yes, because that's what it was." Letty insisted. She sighed and sat back on her parents' couch. She couldn't believe this was happening to her.

"I'll reach out to a judge I know and try to get a rush on that subpoena." David said, standing from the opposite couch and reaching for his briefcase. "All that's left now is the waiting game. As soon as they hand over the surveillance tapes, I will give you a call. Until then, I would stay away from Elena, any of the witnesses and the Staples Center in general."

"Fair enough." Lana and her family stood as well, each shaking David's hand and offering words of thanks.

"Letty, don't get discouraged. The truth always comes out in the end," David reminded her. She could only nod in acknowledgment as Lana walked him to the front door.

"How are you holding up, kid?"

Letty sighed again. "Daddy, how did I get here? I'm a good person. I keep my head down, do what I have to do and go home."

"I know. I've always taught you that sometimes bad things happen, even to good people, but if you continue to stand in your light, truth and righteousness, you will prosper. You can conquer any enemy if you just stay on the path you're on." Joaquin pulled his daughter into an embrace. "Can you do that, Letty? Can you just stand in your truth and hold on for a little bit longer?"

Letty's throat was tight as she kept tears at bay. She nodded against her dad's chest. "Yeah."

A few moments later, her phone rang. Letty cleared her throat and wiped her eyes, pulling away to answer it.

"Hey, Dom." She answered. "What?! Yeah... I can meet you there in fifteen. Text me the address."

"Everything okay?"

"No, someone just vandalized Dom's car." Letty replied. She grabbed her keys from the coffee table. "Call you later, Daddy." The brunette stood on her tiptoes to kiss her father's cheek.


	20. Ahimsa

_A/N: Ehh. I was feeling plot-twisty. _

* * *

_**Chapter 20: Ahimsa**_

_Dom's home, Echo Park, 10:59PM_

"Holy-," began Letty.

"Shit," Vince finished for her. He'd arrived moments after she did and they exited their cars at the same time.

"Well, there is zero doubt in my mind that Elena did this." Letty stated.

The large scarlet A on the windshield of his car was nothing if not proof.

"A scarlet A. Welp… can't say the woman hasn't read a book in her life." Leon joked. Dom glared at him and the smaller man held his hands up in surrender. "Too soon. Sorry."

"I don't understand why would she draw this kind of attention to herself in the middle of all the shit she's putting Let through?" asked Vince.

"Just 'cause she's read a book doesn't make her the sharpest knife in the drawer." Letty replied, resting her hip against the concrete wall that enclosed Dom's lawn. It was her turn to get a look from Dom. She, however, simply gave him one of her own, refusing to back down.

"Vince is right. This doesn't make any sense." Dom finally spoke up. He was angry, that much was apparent.

"We're talking about Elena, here." Letty mentioned. "The same sociopath who got me arrested for no reason."

"Maybe she's pissed that Dom bailed you out." Leon blurted.

"Lee, leave it alone."

Letty's brows furrowed. Dom hadn't bail her out. Her parents did… _didn't they?_  
"So, what do you want to do, DT?" Vince asked

"Well, Jesse's on his way with the tow. I'll just have to find some time within the next week to fix it."

"I'll come in after hours to help you work on it if you want," offered Letty.

"Why don't you just come back to work at the shop?" Vince wondered aloud.

"I-."

"Don't have any excuse not to. Right, DT?"

Dom and Letty shared a long look. "Well, if she-." A loud truck honking stopped him mid-sentence. Jesse was pulling up along the curb. Leon and Vince left the two alone to help put Dom's car onto the flatbed

"Bad things seem happen when we're together." Letty told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing bad happened when we were alone in your apartment. We were _very_ good if I recall."

Rolling her eyes, Letty couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "That's because we were both a bit angry with the other."

Dom shrugged. "Still."

"Besides, I think your girlfriend is already pissed that we even know each other. That's the only reason she's doing all of this. She thinks I'm trying to break the two of you up."

"Actually," Dom started, nervously, "I broke things off with her."

"What?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you at dinner."

"Wh-when?"

"This afternoon while you had your meeting with your boss."

"But why?"

Dom pushed off from the wall and stood to his full height in front of her, hands in the front pockets of his cargos. "We both know why, Letty."

"I didn't ask you to."

"I wanted to." He closed the distance between them, their fronts pressed together. Uncrossing one of her arms, Letty put her hand on his chest, keeping him from leaning in any further. "She's not who I wanted. Who I saw myself with in the future."

"And you see yourself with me in the future?"

"For now, I see us as friends who are maybe working towards something more. I'd like to see us together in the future."

"Why?"

Dom sighed. She was not going to make this easy on him. It was almost as if she were testing him, but he knew that she was simply trying to understand where his mind was. "I think we both want to at least explore the attraction between us."

Letty cleared her throat.

"Am I wrong?"

"No, you're not wrong."

A small, almost relieved smile lifted the corners of Dom's lips. He nodded his head once. "Good."

"But for now," she stood firmly, "we're friends working towards something more. Deal?"

"Deal."

"I have a question."

"Ask."

"Did you bail me out of jail? Or my parents?"

"Does it matter?"

"A little."

"Yo, Dom! You ridin' with Jess?" Leon yelled. The pair turned to see that they'd gotten his car onto the flatbed and Jesse was just waiting on Dom. Dom turned back to Letty; it was obvious that they had much more to talk about, but he also wanted to make sure his car got to the garage safely.

"Go," Letty approved, smiling at the blatant indecision on his face.

"You sure? We could go for drinks or-."

"Go to the shop. It's been a long day. I'm going to go take a shower and try to get some sleep."

Dom turned and started towards the tow truck before pausing. He jogged back to Letty, kissed her cheek quickly. "Let me know when you get home safe."

"I will."

* * *

_Letty's condo, Tuesday, 9:46AM_

The persistent knocking at her front door roused Letty from her deep slumber and she with disheveled hair and half-opened eyes, she trudged through her condo and to the front door, swinging it open. Her eyes opened wider.

"You're still in bed? It's like ten in the morning. I brought you coffee. Black since I didn't know if you liked those frou-frou ass drinks or not. Sort of a thanks-for-bailing-me-out-of-jail gift."

"Gisele, why are you here so early?"

The tall woman glanced at her wristwatch. "Actually I'm like forty-five minutes late. You said be here at nine."

Letty took the proffered drink and pulled from it deeply. Black was exactly how she liked her coffee. With the beverage warming her insides and waking her up, Letty was in a slightly better mood. She moved to the side, allowing Gisele entrance into her home.

"Did you give the doorman your real name?"

"Uh, no. I'm not stupid." Gisele huffed, looking around Letty's place. She let out a low whistle before muttering, "The woman likes her home shopping network."

Letty rolled her eyes. "I wish there was a mute button for you. Or at least a brain-to-mouth filter that could be installed."

"Take me as I am, Letty." Gisele said, tossing a medium-sized gym bag onto Letty's couch before sitting down. "Go get changed. I'll wait."

Letty practically rolled her eyes all the way back to her bedroom. She threw on some workout clothing and sneakers and pulled her hair up into a bun.

"So, what's the plan?" Gisele asked from her spot on the couch.

"First I'm going to kick your ass."

"Why?"

"All I asked you to do was spray paint his car!"

"That's all I did, Letty!"

"The car was totaled!"

"All I did was the A, I swear. What else is wrong with it?"

"The windshield and side mirrors were bashed in. You didn't do that?"

"Fuck no. You said misdemeanor, not felony. Jesus."

* * *

_Flashback, LA County Jail, yesterday 7:52PM_

"_Ready?"_

_Letty paused, and looked back at the building. "Uh, one second." She jogged back inside._

"_Back again? Missed us already?" The intake guard inquired._

_Letty gave a half-assed smile and pulled one of her credit cards out of her back pocket. "I'm actually here to bail someone out."_

_The guard look at her suspiciously. "Who?"_

"_Uh, Gisele."_

"_Does this 'uh, Gisele' have a last name?"_

"_Probably." Letty snapped back. "Can you just look her up? She came in here tonight. Amazonian chick. Kicked a dude in the balls."_

"_Oh, the one who kept telling officers it was self-defense because he grabbed her buttocks?"_

"_Yes! Yes, that's her."_

"_Her bail is set at fifteen hundred dollars. You pay ten percent and she's all yours."_

_Letty put the one-hundred-and-fifty dollars on her credit card. Gisele, whose paperwork still hadn't been processed was pushed through the system at the extensive urging of Letty and seven minutes later, she appeared at the officer's desk._

"_No way. You bailed me out?"_

_Letty shrugged. "I couldn't leave you in there dressed like that."_

_Gisele looked down at her bikini top and LAPD issued sweatpants that she'd been given when she was brought in with only a pair of lacy boyshorts on. It was her turn to shrug. "I've worn less."_

"_I'm sure you have. Anyway," Letty's voice lowered as they retrieved Gisele's keys and wads of single dollar bills from the personal effects counter, "I have a way that you can pay me back."_

"_Is it illegal?"_

"_Sort of."_

_Gisele shrugged again while they started towards the lounge. "As long as it's not drugs or prostitution, I'm in."_

"_I just need you to spray paint an 'A' on someone's car."_

"_An 'A'? Do I want to know?"_

"_Let's just say that I'm getting sick of waiting for karma to come around and do its thing."_

"_Where can I find the car?"_

"_Echo Park."_

_End of flashback_

* * *

"Swear all you did was the paint?"

"I swear on my mother's life."

This didn't pacify Letty. She barely knew the girl. For all Letty knew, the woman's mother could have been dead. Or she could've been an orphan.

"Come with me."

* * *

_DT's Auto Garage, 10:34AM_

"Holy shit." Gisele whispered. "I swear to god I did not do that."

"Then who did?" Letty hissed.

"Maybe his actual girlfriend did it! I don't know." Gisele muttered back. "Letty, I swear to god."

"Then we have to figure out who did."

"Why?"

"Because he's my… friend."

"Who is?"

"Let? I didn't know you were coming in this early." Dom's voice caused them both to startle and turn to their right.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I wanted to show my friend Gisele the damage. She thinks maybe she can help fix it." She lied.

"Cool. So, what do you think?" Dom asked Gisele.

"Well," Gisele circled the car, giving herself time to come up with something, "it's… fixable. Once window trim is replaced and the remaining glass is removed, I can repaint it to look exactly as it did. I'm a master with a spray-painting gun."

Letty's eyes widened at Gisele's joke and she cleared her throat, rubbing her temples.

"That would be great. I don't remember the exact name of the paint, but I remember the brand, if that helps."

"It does." Gisele replied.

"Well, now that we know Gisele can help, we're going to head to the gym." Letty grabbed her new friend's arm and yanked her towards the exit.

"Let!" Dom called.

"Yeah?"

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just… lots to do today. I'll see you later tonight."

He nodded, but the two women were already gone.

_**Up Next: A plan is put in motion.**_


	21. Kudalini

_Chapter 21: Kudalini_

_Letty's condo, 12:45PM _

"Letty, it's so good to hear from you. I left dozens of messages. I-."

"I know, Coach. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something." Wandered around her apartment, cleaning as she went.

"If it has to do with the case, I can't-."

"No, nothing about the case. I actually wanted to help you out." She pulled a _Playboy _from Gisele's hands and replaced it with a _Dance Spirit_ magazine. "I know you're short a girl and I have the perfect candidate for you."

"Letty, you have no idea how you're the answer to my prayers. We've been holding auditions for a temporary replacement and these girls are just-."

Letty gave a faux chuckle into the phone, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. Gisele stifled a laugh. Switching the device to speakerphone, she sat down on the couch, and put her feet up on the coffee table, lying the phone on her chest.

"I don't envy you right now, Coach."

"So, tell me about this girl."

Letty went on to describe Gisele's physical appearance and personality.

"Well, she sounds like a great girl. Have her come to the arena tomorrow at ten-thirty sharp. Does she have headshots or a resume?"

Gisele shook her head.

"Not yet, but if she needs them-."

"Not really. If you say she's good, she's good. Does she have the ability to learn a quick routine before the audition?"

Letty looked, in question, over at Gisele who confirmed her abilities with a nod of her head.

"Absolutely."

"Great!"

"One more thing, Coach."

"What's that?"

"I don't want the girls to know that she knows me. With everything going on, I just don't want them to treat her like a leper?"

"Say no more. I understand completely. Secret's safe with me, kid."

"Thanks, Coach."

Hanging up the phone, Letty and Gisele bumped fists.

"Operation Tame That Bitch is a-go." Gisele laughed.

"We are not calling it that."

"We'll work on it."

* * *

_DT's Auto Garage, 6:30PM_

"Hey." Letty announced her presence. Dom's head turned to look over his shoulder and a smile spread across his face. He was leaning over the the hood of his car, inspecting the damage and assessing how much time he'd had to put into it.

"Hey."

"How's she looking?"

"Uh, I think it's about a three days' worth of work. Getting that trim off is going to be the hardest because it's the original frame. It has to be done by Friday though because I called our class company to come out."

Letty sat her bag down on a tool table and pulled off her hoodie and pinned her hair up. "Well then, let's get to it."

They worked side by side in silence for a few moments, each unscrewing opposite sides of the windshield's frame.

"Have you talked to your mom's lawyer friend?"

Letty smirked. "You know he has a crush on my mom?"

"No he doesn't." Dom chuckled in disbelief.

"I swear. I thought my dad was going to break a tooth from clenching his jaw so hard."

"Wow. Maybe that will make him work harder. You know, to impress your mom."

"Maybe. In the meantime, I had to do things for myself."

"What's that mean?"

Letty dropped a screw into a small box and picked up a crowbar. "I'm sending Gisele in to… infiltrate."

Dom stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I told Coach that I had the perfect girl to fill my spot."

"And she went for it?"

"Yeah, she's desperate for a new dancer. Whenever we had tryouts last minute, the prospects were just horrible. So, I served Gisele up on a platter for her."

"And how does Gisele feel about being meat?"

"She's the one who put the idea in my head."

* * *

_Flashback (7 hours ago), Letty's condo_

_Gisele whipped her head up, dark tresses slapping against her back as she looked over to Letty who was also in Downward Dog position._

"_I just had the most brilliant idea ever, and it would help us both out."_

_Almost in sync, the two came up into Warrior I pose. "What is it?"_

"_The Lady Lancers have to be looking for a girl to fill your spot right now, right?"_

_Letty tilted her head side to side as if considering this. "Actually, yeah. They're probably holding auditions as we speak."_

"_Okay, so why don't I audition?"_

"_That helps you make good money, but how does that help me exactly?"_

"_I can be like your spy! Try to get information out of these so-called witnesses."_

_It was official: Gisele had not only managed to peak Letty's interest, but the shorter brunette had actually begun to picture the scenarios in her head._

"_That actually might be perfect." Letty agreed. "But isn't that like entrapment?"_

"_If I was fucking law enforcement, yeah. But I'm far from it. Don't you watch Law &amp; Order?"_

_Letty rolled her eyes. "No."_

_They stood to their full heights transitioning into Tree Pose, placing the flat of their left feet against their right thighs. "Whatever, it's beside the point."_

"_Your point being?"_

"_That this will be a fucking cakewalk. I join the Lancers, get close to some bimbos and record a few conversations and get you all the proof you need to fight this stupid ass case."_

_It didn't take long for Letty to agree to the situation. "Fine, I'll call Coach."_

"_Namaste."_

_End of flashback_

* * *

"So, what if the girls find out that you know Gisele and they shun her?"

"We have that handled. I swear."

"How did you meet Gisele anyway?" Dom had had his suspicions that Gisele was the "friend" that Letty had met during her hour or so stay in LA County lockup.

"Oh, we're old friends." Letty grinned, giving away her lie. Dom shook his head.

"Two criminals working together." He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Let's just hope this doesn't backfire."

"It won't. It's foolproof... -ish."

Dom shook his head and leaned back over the car. "Lift on three."

He counted to three and they pulled and lifted the windshield frame off of the car and sat it in a corner.

"I think we deserve a drink now." Dom suggested. "What do you think?"

"Lead the way."

* * *

_**Up Next: a first date? / Gisele's audition.**_


	22. Hrit

_**Chapter 22: Hrit **_

_Boa Steakhouse, West Hollywood, 7:15PM_

The private cocktail lounge of Boa Steakhouse was magnificent in decoration, yet moderate in people, unlike the general dining area. Despite it being prime dinner hours, the place was rather… empty. The restaurant was every meat lover's dream, adding unique twists to classic steakhouse favorites. And the two mechanics were definitely underdressed, but no one seemed to mind.

"This place is nice."

"Yeah, I love it."

Letty raised an eyebrow as she perused the menu. "Come here often?"

"Not with Elena if that's what you're hinting at?"

"Oh, it wasn't a hint." She looked up from the oak tag paper and gave him a wink. Dom grinned and shook his head.

"You're one of the most blunt women I've ever met. There's no guessing with you." He admitted.

"Would you prefer a little mystery?" Letty smirked, arching a brow.

"In some aspects?"

"Such as?"

Dom just grinned. Apparently it was contagious because Letty had to look back at her menu so her cheeks would stop hurting from smirking.

"You just think you're so cute, don't you?"

"I think I'm okay." He said, giving a nonchalant shrug of his left shoulder.

An adorably perky waitress made her way to their table, eager to take their drink orders. Both Dom and Letty assured her that they didn't need a few moments to place their food ordered, and once she had that, she was off.

Now, with their menus gone and their eyes having nothing to look at except one another, the smiling began again.

"What?" Letty finally asked.

"I just think you're so beautiful."

"I think I'm okay," she mocked in a deeper voice than her own. Dom laughed, shaking his head.

"And she's got a sense of humor, too."

"Did you ever doubt that I did?"

"Up until about thirty seconds ago."

"Why does everything think I'm this angry bitch who just wants to fight?"

Jokingly, Dom replied, "I wouldn't say angry."

"Very funny."

"Well, you sort of put up a wall when you first meet people. I thought I told you this before. It's a defense mechanism, for sure."

"And I thought I told you to that I'm not afraid of anything."

"Except getting closer to me."

"I was never afraid of that. Just cautious."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"Are you still wary?"

Letty considered this for a moment, how she truly felt. "Honestly, no."

"Okay. So."

"So," repeated the brunette.

"Where do we go from here?"

"Forward. Slowly."

Dom gave a deliberate nod. "I can do that."

Letty smiled. "Good."

* * *

By dessert, Letty's cheeks hurt from laughing so much. Dom had a great sense of humor.

"I'm just saying, this situation is a little like a cartoon plot."

"It's not. I think it's brilliant."

"Because it's your plan!"

"Technically, it was Gisele's plan."

"So, you're Pinky and she's The Brain?"

Letty laughed again. "No. Because this isn't a cartoon. This is real life shit, Dom."

"The fact that you're so serious is what makes this all the more hysterical."

"Okay, just you wait. They're going to write a novel about this plan."

"They already have."

"Whatever. Don't come crawling to me when our royalties start pouring in."

"You're _that _confident that Gisele can infiltrate a group of catty women to help clear your name?"

"I'm _that _confident," confirmed Letty.

"Well," Dom seemed to think about his next words carefully, "then, I'm in, too."

"You're in?  
He nodded. "I'm in. What can I do?"

"Well, there's not much you can do. You broke up with Elena. So, she's probably more pissed at you than she is at me."

"There _were _some choice words on just how I should perform intercourse upon my own person, but-."

Letty put her hand up, trying not to laugh. "I got it. So, young grasshopper, how do you think you can help Operation Stop That Skank?"

"Operation Stop-. Okay, this has gone too far." Dom's laughter was uncontrollable. "You are really something else."

Letty shrugged a shoulder, smirking. "I thought you might like that."

"Anything you need, I'm all yours."

Letty looked him dead in his eyes. "All mine, huh?"

Dom opened his hands. "All yours."

In complete silence, the pair gazed at one another.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

* * *

_Friday, 1:10PM, Letty's apartment_

"Hello?"

"Honestly, I've done harder routines at the club."

"Gisele?"

"The Queen of England." Letty could practically hear Gisele's eyes rolling. "Yeah, it's me."

"What are you eating?"

"Protein bar. They starved me all fucking morning." She responded. The wrapper rustled into the phone again and Letty smirked. She did not envy Gisele in that moment. She'd never went along with the food guidelines, but now that she was no longer part of the team, the brunette had been eating whatever she could get her hands on.

"How did the audition go?"

"Audition?" Gisele let out a laugh. "No, this was practice. Riles offered me the spot after I edited Elena's audition piece."

"You what? Wait, _Riles_?" Letty chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I'm basically on a nickname basis with everyone now."

"You're such a show-off. You've been there for ten minutes."

"Three hours and ten minutes and I am not pleased. I want a shower and my bed."

"Well, too bad, we're going out for celebratory drinks."

"I can't drink. I'm on a strict diet regimen."

There was silence on the phone for a couple of heartbeats before both women burst out laughing.

"Good one. I'll see you later."

"Later."

_El Prado Bar, 7:45PM_

"Well well. If it isn't the happy couple." Gisele greeted. She kissed Letty's cheek and then Dom's. "I didn't know we were bringing dates."

"We're not. Why? Are you dating someone?"

"No, but I at least would have brought my sugar daddy or something."

Dom's eyebrows rose.

"She's kidding." Letty told him. "I hope."

"Somehow, I don't think she is." Dom replied, drinking from his Corona. Gisele simply shrugged and got the bartender's attention. She ordered three shots of their top-shelf vodka and turned back to her cohorts.

"Anyway, phase one of Operation Tame That Bitch is complete."

"I told you we're not calling it that."

Dom had to laugh. The bartender returned with their shots, and Gisele pushed one to Letty and the other to Dom. "Salud." They tapped glasses and took them to the head.

"Did you come up with a better name yet?" Gisele inquired of Letty.

"She actually did."

"No," Letty gave him a pointed look, "I didn't."

"What did she come up with?"

Dom looked to Letty for approval. Approval that she would never give.

"I love my life, Gisele. I'm going to have to pass."

"Well, doesn't matter." She tapped on the bar and held up three fingers. "Because either way, this is going to be fun."

"What exactly is phase two?" Dom asked.

"Gaining trust."

"And then?"

"And then retrieving vital information."

"This has got to be illegal."

"It probably is. But so is making false accusations."

"Touche."

Gisele put her hand on Dom's shoulder. "Don't look so worried, Dom. This will all work out."

Part of him wanted to believe Gisele was right. The other half, however, felt like this was all going to blow up in their faces. He hoped that part of him was wrong.


	23. Sympathetic Vibrations

_A/N: There should be an update to Turning Tables coming as well. I think I'm going to have to hold off on a new chapter of Contractual Obligations until after my vacation. (I come back Wednesday)._

_**Chapter 23: Sympathetic Vibrations**_

_Staples Center, Monday, 10:30AM_

"Gisele, do you think the count is off when we're transitioning from the fouetté and arabesque into the battle formation?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, Gisele, what do you think?"

"Well, I-.

"I think Gisele wasn't the choreographer and all questions should come to me." Elena interjected.

"Elena," Coach Riley started, "this is a team and sometimes fresh eyes and a new viewpoint are necessary. Let's not make Gisele feel unwelcome."

Elena crossed her arms, but remained silent.

"Gisele, you were saying?"

"I think if we step into battle formation straight from the fouetté, it'll keep us on beat. So," Gisele grabbed Mia and Rosa's hands and pulled them into a line, "if we just do the fouetté," the three girls did so, following Gisele's lead, "and then stop, we can hit the drum beat once and then by the next one," she led Rosa and Mia into their next formation where the girls separated into two teams for a dance 'battle', "we'll already be in our spots."

"That makes sense. And it'll knock off at least six seconds of the routine."

"But we still need to shave off another fourteen seconds." Rosa reminded them.

"Let's try to work on it tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, after games we all go to Waffle House. You should come." Mia said.

"Uh, correction she is coming tonight." Rosa answered for her.

"It'll be fun."

"Okay, I'll be there. Sounds fun."

Coach Riley clasped her hands together, the sound echoing in the empty stadium. "Ladies, you are dismissed. Practice is over, but that doesn't mean your jobs are. Remember that you are representing the-."

"Lady Lancers and the Staples Center." The girls recited from memory.

"As long as we're clear." She gestured for the girls to take their leave and they did.

All except Elena, who stood by, flanked by two other girls from the team.

"I don't like her."

"She's trying to take over your team." Suki suggested.

"We can't let that happen."

"It won't happen." Elena promised. "Hey, Suki. Isn't your father in the HR department?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So, I'm thinking if anyone can find out something about anyone on the team, it's you. Try to find out what you can about this girl. I want to know _exactly _who I'm dealing with."

"Done."

* * *

_DT's Auto Garage, 1:13PM_

"You see this finger?" Gisele wiggled her pinkie.

Letty stopped turning a wrench to look at her new friend. "Yeah, and I don't want to know what you've done with it."

"Ha, ha." Gisele replied, sarcastically. "Meanwhile, I have that whole squad wrapped around it."

Letty laughed. "Could you be any more confident?"

"Probably," admitted Gisele with a shrug. "But I'll save some for the rest of you little people."

"Thanks, Princess."

Gisele gave a classic pageant wave before biting into her chicken salad wrap.

"Real classy."

"Letty, tell your friend to move her ass off of my work space?" Vince commanded.

"Uh, her friend is sitting right here. And that's 'her _perfect _ass', to you." Gisele corrected.

Letty grinned but said nothing. It was obvious that Gisele and Vince were a solid three insults away from having hate sex and she was not about to get in the middle of that.

"I'll be the judge of that."

"I doubt you've seen a perfect ass in your life."

"Honestly, honey, the children are getting out of control." Dominic said, pulling Letty's rag from her back pocket to wipe his hands.

"Well, you try working a full-time job, ordering lunch and keeping the kids in line."

He smirked. "You ordered lunch?"

"That's all you got out of that? Food?" Letty playfully rolled her eyes. "Just like a man."

Dom smiled a genuine, eye-crinkling smile. "I'm old school, baby. Work, eat, fu-."

"Finish that sentence and you'll never do any of the three again… _honey_."

Vince and Gisele had gotten too quiet for comfort. When Dom and Letty looked over to the peanut gallery, they realized their banter was being watched intensely.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"Nothing."

"We think you guys are cute." Gisele said.

"Cute is for puppies. Certainly not for this brute." Letty used her thumb to gesture to the muscled man behind her.

"Brute? Really?" Dom suddenly reached down and picked Letty up, putting her over his shoulder, caveman-style. "I'll show you brute."

"Dominic, put me down. Now."

He ignored her protests, walking her to the back office. "Play nice, children." He shot over his shoulder.

"Dom! Dom!" Her shouts turned into laughs as Dom found the ticklish spot just behind her knees.

When they reached the office, he finally set her on her feet, kicking the door shut behind them.

"I know what you're doing."

"What's that?"

"I thought there was a very strict no dating policy. Boss's orders."

Dom made a show of looking around. "I don't see the boss here."

"You know very well he wouldn't be." She turned and aimlessly walked around the office to stand beside the desk.

"He may or may not be on a second honeymoon."

"Mhm." Letty turned on her heels and tapped her pointer finger against her lips. "And you just knew this office would be free."

"Free for what?"

"To be alone with me."

"To do what?"

"That is what I'm trying to figure out."

"Well, it is our lunch break. I don't know about you, but I plan to sit here," he sat in the visitor's chair in his father's office, "and relax for the next," looking at his watch he determined, "forty-three minutes."

She smiled. "And what? Let the sympathetic vibrations do the work for us?"

"I don't know what that means."

"It's when two energies on the same wavelength."

"Tell me more." Dom said, watching as Letty walked closer to him.

"When two beings are moved by each other."

When Letty was close enough, he took her hand in his, locking his fingers with hers and promptly yanked her down onto his lap.

"What happens then?"

"They create something amazing."

"So what are you waiting for?"

"For you to move me."

And so he did. Dom took her face in his hands and softly pressed his lips against Letty's. Their eyes closed and the Earth moved.

_Literally._

The beginning trembles of an earthquake shook the ground and Dom and Letty stood from the chair, hands still clasped. Dom opened the office door and they found shelter under the doorway, watching as momentos were shook from shelves. Elsewhere, they heard glass shatter and Leon shout an expletive. Dom's arms wrapped around Letty, his hand shielding her head, her face in his chest.

Fifteen seconds later, the world came to a stand still. Letty unburied her face from Dom's broad chest and looked up into his face.

"Are you okay?" They asked each other, simultaneously. Grins broke out on either of their faces.

"How's that for sympathetic vibrations?"

"I'd say… I'm definitely moved."

Vince's voice called out. "Everyone okay?"

"Yeah." Gisele's voice came.

Dom and Letty looked at each other once more before Letty replied, "We're fine!"


End file.
